Minor Account Balances Rise 20% in Four Years
Average Balance of High-Value Accounts Exceeds 1 Billion KRW
Numerous "Gold Spoon" Accounts Hold Over 10 Billion KRW
Jin Sunmi: "Need to Investigate Possibility of Illicit Gifting"
The balance of savings and deposit accounts held by minors at major banks increased by more than 20% over four years, with 145 accounts holding over 500 million KRW identified as "gold spoon" minor accounts. This has raised calls for an investigation into the possibility of illicit gifting using minor accounts.
According to data submitted on the 24th by Rep. Jin Sun-mi of the Democratic Party of Korea from the five major banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH Nonghyup), the balance of minors' savings and deposit accounts (including KRW and foreign currency) stood at 7.809 trillion KRW at the end of last year. This is an increase of 342.9 billion KRW (4.6%) from 7.466 trillion KRW at the end of 2023, and a 1.3114 trillion KRW (20.2%) increase compared to 6.4977 trillion KRW at the end of 2020.
Looking at the balance brackets as of the end of last year, accounts with less than 10 million KRW numbered 4,679,248 (4.6592 trillion KRW), representing the largest share. Other brackets included ▲ 10 million KRW to less than 50 million KRW: 153,348 accounts (2.4896 trillion KRW) ▲ 50 million KRW to less than 100 million KRW: 3,525 accounts (220.2 billion KRW) ▲ 100 million KRW to less than 500 million KRW: 1,727 accounts (289.9 billion KRW) ▲ 500 million KRW and above: 145 accounts (150.2 billion KRW).
While the balance of minors' savings and deposit accounts has increased, the number of accounts has declined. The number of minors' savings and deposit accounts decreased from approximately 5.27 million at the end of 2020 to 4.98 million at the end of 2023, and further down to 4.84 million at the end of last year. Consequently, the average balance per account at the end of last year was about 1.61 million KRW, up 7.6% from approximately 1.5 million KRW at the end of 2023 and 30.9% from about 1.23 million KRW at the end of 2020.
Although the total number of minors' savings and deposit accounts is decreasing, the number of high-value accounts has increased. The number of accounts with balances exceeding 500 million KRW rose to 145 at the end of last year from 136 at the end of the previous year. The total balance increased from 134.8 billion KRW to 150.2 billion KRW, a rise of 15.4 billion KRW (11.4%), showing a higher growth rate. The average balance per account exceeded 1 billion KRW, and as of August last year, there were accounts with balances exceeding 10 billion KRW. Rep. Jin stated, "There is a need to investigate the possibility of illicit gifting using minors' accounts," and added, "It is time to consider strengthening gift tax reporting requirements for savings and deposits exceeding a certain amount."
Trends in the Number and Balance of Minor Accounts at the Five Major Banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH Nonghyup). Provided by the Office of Jin Sun-mi, Democratic Party of Korea.
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