[Aldonssuljob] In the Year of the Blue Snake, What Is 'This' That Wealthy People Are Focusing on as an Investment?

Editor's NoteAlmanac of Money-Saving Useful Miscellany. 'Aldonssuljab' delivers only truly 'money'-making information from countless economic articles.

The new year 2025 has dawned before we knew it.

Many of you must be making your New Year's resolutions.

There are various plans such as exercise, reading, and self-development,

but it seems that 'financial investment' is the most commonly chosen New Year's resolution.

The economic outlook is bleak, the exchange rate threatens the 1,500 won level,

and many are worried about not finding suitable investment destinations.

So, we are going to take a look at the investment strategies of the wealthy.

What assets have the wealthy used to build their wealth,

and what investment areas are they interested in this new year? Let's take a look.

Wealthy Individuals with Financial Assets Over 1 Billion KRW... Concentrated in 'Gangnam 3 Districts'

Yonhap News

According to the '2024 Korea Wealth Report' published by KB Management Research Institute,

individuals holding financial assets over 1 billion KRW are defined as 'Korean wealthy'.

In 2024, they numbered 461,000, accounting for 0.9% of the total population.

This represents a 1.0% increase compared to the previous year (456,000).

Korean wealthy individuals mostly reside in Seoul with 208,800 people,

followed by Gyeonggi with 101,700, Busan 29,200, Daegu 19,300, and Incheon 14,100.

In other words, 70.4% of Korean wealthy, or 324,600 people, live in the Seoul metropolitan area including Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon.

Within Seoul, they are especially concentrated in the Gangnam 3 districts.

45.5% of Korean wealthy reside in the Gangnam 3 districts.

By asset size, 421,800 individuals with assets between 1 billion and less than 10 billion KRW account for 91.5% of Korean wealthy.

High-net-worth individuals with 10 billion to less than 30 billion KRW number 29,100, accounting for 6.3%,

and ultra-high-net-worth individuals holding over 30 billion KRW number 10,100, accounting for 2.2%.

Korean Wealthy Show Distinctive 'Real Estate' Affection

Looking into the asset portfolios of Korean wealthy individuals,

they hold residential real estate (32%), liquid financial assets such as cash (11.6%), non-primary residences (10.9%), buildings and commercial properties (10.3%), savings and deposits (8.7%), and stocks (7.4%) in that order.

Other assets include gold, jewelry, memberships, and artworks.

Real estate assets alone exceed 50%.

The investment area attracting the highest interest is also 'real estate'.

Domestic real estate investment (40%) ranks first.

Next is interest in tangible assets (gold, jewelry, etc.) at 34%.

Notably, interest in tangible assets jumped from 7th place in 2022 to 2nd place this time, which is remarkable.

Uncertain 2025... Examining the Wealthy’s Investment Strategies

This year, many wealthy individuals expect high returns from stocks and gold/jewelry.

Stocks (35.5%) were chosen as the top short-term (within one year) promising investment.

Gold and jewelry ranked second with 33.5%.

Residential housing fell one rank from last year to third place.

Among these, domestic stocks (52.3%) had the highest investment intention,

followed by foreign stocks (34.8%) and funds (31.5%).

The sector expected to yield the highest annual returns was also domestic stocks (16.9%).

The financial investment trend for 2025 is mostly 'status quo'.

Overall, a wait-and-see stance is expected.

However, due to ongoing international and economic uncertainties, opinions on stocks and savings/deposits are divided between increasing and decreasing investment amounts.

This contrasts with last year’s clear intention to add funds to stocks.

Korean Wealthy Believe 'Having 10 Billion KRW in Total Assets' Defines Being 'Wealthy'

When asked how much one needs to be considered 'wealthy',

an overwhelming 31.3% responded that total assets of 10 billion KRW are required.

Wealthy individuals mainly accumulated assets through business income (32.8%) and real estate investment (26.3%).

Responses indicating asset accumulation through earned income (8.5%) decreased by 2.8 percentage points compared to last year.

Also, responses indicating asset accumulation through inheritance and gifts (18.3%) decreased by 1.7 percentage points.

On average, wealthy individuals saved 740 million KRW as seed money at age 42.

The three main ways to accumulate seed money were business profits, real estate investment returns, and parental support/inheritance.

Korean Wealthy Dream of Overseas Immigration

26.8% of Korean wealthy have considered overseas investment immigration.

The preferred countries were the United States (50.5%), Australia (41.4%), Canada (39.3%), New Zealand (28%), and Singapore (16.8%), showing a strong preference for English-speaking countries.

Especially those in their 50s (29.7%) and those with total assets over 10 billion KRW are most actively considering overseas immigration.

The reasons include favorable business environment (35.5%) and living environment (33.6%).

Investment in overseas assets is also active.

Three out of four Korean wealthy are investing long-term in overseas assets.

75.5% of Korean wealthy have invested in overseas assets for over three years, and those with greater total assets have maintained long-term investments exceeding ten years.

KB Management Research Institute also surveyed intentions for future overseas asset investments.

The most considered overseas investment was overseas stocks (65.7%),

followed by foreign currency savings/deposits and insurance, funds at 55.7%, foreign currency cash at 39.3%, overseas bonds at 16.9%, and overseas real estate at 9%.

Top Alternative Asset Preference is 'Gold'... Interest in Virtual Assets like Bitcoin Also Increasing

Yonhap News

Besides traditional investment destinations such as real estate, stocks, and savings/deposits,

the most preferred alternative asset among the wealthy is 'gold'.

Gold and jewelry accounted for an overwhelming 77.8%, ranking first.

Next were artworks at 20%, and virtual assets like Bitcoin at 11%.

The high preference for gold is attributed to the strong expectation of long-term value appreciation.

Notably, the potential of virtual assets as 'digital gold' is highly regarded.

The ownership rate of virtual assets among Korean wealthy increased from 4.3% in 2023 to 7.3% in 2024.

Regarding virtual asset investment, Korean wealthy responded that they consider them promising assets and expect high long-term returns, each at 38.9%.