This year, thanks to the bullish domestic and international stock markets, the total net assets of the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) market in Korea have nearly reached 300 trillion won.
According to the "2025 ETF·ETN Market Review" released by the Korea Exchange on December 30, the total net assets of the domestic ETF market stood at 297.2 trillion won at the end of the year, up 71.2% from the previous year. This growth rate is more than double that of the global ETF market, which grew by 31.7% during the same period. The number of ETFs with net assets exceeding 1 trillion won increased by 31 from the previous year, reaching a total of 66.
The top three ETFs by net assets were "TIGER US S&P500" (12.6 trillion won), KODEX 200 (11.7 trillion won), and KODEX CD Rate Active (Synthetic) (8.7 trillion won). Together, these three accounted for 11.1% of the entire ETF market. The Korea Exchange highlighted that, due to the strong KOSPI market, the net assets of KODEX 200, which tracks the KOSPI200 index, increased by 6.2 trillion won (107.3%) compared to the previous year.
As of this year, there are a total of 1,058 ETF products in Korea. Of these, 173 were newly listed on the stock market, while 50 were delisted. Notably, 69 new industry-themed ETFs, including those focused on artificial intelligence (AI), and 37 new strategy-based ETFs, including high-dividend products, were launched, drawing significant attention. In addition, 23 stock-bond hybrid ETFs were listed, catering to investors seeking both equity growth and bond stability.
Net inflows resulting from ETF creation and redemption amounted to 77.5 trillion won this year, an increase of 32.7 trillion won (72.8%) compared to the previous year. There were particularly strong inflows into domestic short-term interest rate products, commodities (gold), and US market benchmark index ETFs.
The average daily trading value in the ETF market this year was 5.5 trillion won, up 57.5% from 3.5 trillion won the previous year. This figure represents 44.3% of the average daily trading value of the KOSPI market.
By investor type, individuals accounted for 30.4% of total trading value, foreigners for 22.2%, and institutions (excluding liquidity providers) for 18%, making individual investors the largest group.
The average return of the ETF market was 34.2%. Domestic equity ETFs returned 64.8%, significantly outperforming overseas equity ETFs, which returned 17.2%. The average daily trading value of domestic equity ETFs was 3.5 trillion won, accounting for 64% of the total. In particular, the average daily trading value of domestic benchmark index products such as KOSPI200 increased by 670 billion won (about 41%) compared to the previous year.
The Korea Exchange stated, "With the diversification of investment themes and inflows from sources such as retirement pensions, the total net assets of the ETF market are now on the verge of 300 trillion won, firmly establishing ETFs as a core asset class in the stock market. For domestic ETFs, stock theme products such as semiconductors, shipbuilding, and AI have gained popularity, while increased interest rate volatility and stock market uncertainty have led to notable inflows into parking-type ETFs (money market ETFs)."
On the other hand, due to delistings and capital inflows, the number of small-scale ETF products has significantly decreased. There are now 34 small-scale ETFs, down to 42.5% of last year's total of 80.
Meanwhile, the total indicative value of the Exchange Traded Note (ETN) market this year nearly reached 19 trillion won, marking an all-time high. The annual indicative value, led by CD rate-based products, increased by about 1.6 trillion won, reflecting strong quantitative growth.
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