Foreign holdings blunt Korea's wealth gains

SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - South Korea's national wealth grew at less than half the previous year's pace in 2025, as a record rally in domestic stocks produced an accounting paradox: rising share prices boosted household wealth but simultaneously eroded the country's net financial position by 326 trillion won ($229 billion) as the value of Korean equities owned by foreign investors surged.

National net worth rose 2.2 percent, or 531 trillion won, to 24.56 quadrillion won at the end of 2025, slowing sharply from a 5.0 percent increase, or 1.14 quadrillion won, a year earlier, according to preliminary national balance sheet data jointly released Wednesday by the Bank of Korea and the Ministry of Data and Statistics. 

The slowdown came despite robust gains in real assets.

Non-financial assets climbed 857 trillion won, or 3.8 percent, to 23.29 quadrillion won as land and housing prices continued to rise.

But net financial assets fell 20.4 percent to 1.27 quadrillion won after financial liabilities expanded by 3.12 quadrillion won, outpacing the 2.79 quadrillion won increase in financial assets.

The main driver was South Korea's surging equity market.

The benchmark KOSPI advanced 75.6 percent during 2025, far outperforming the S&P 500's 16.4 percent gain and the Euro Stoxx 50's 18.3 percent rise.

Because Korean shares owned by overseas investors are recorded as external financial liabilities under the national accounts, the rally sharply increased the country's liabilities to non-residents.

The appreciation of those holdings exceeded gains on overseas equities owned by Korean investors, generating a 505 trillion won negative valuation effect on equity and investment fund positions and turning overall financial valuation gains from a positive 440 trillion won in 2024 to a negative 486 trillion won in 2025.
  Real assets continued to underpin wealth creation.

Land values rose 554 trillion won, or 4.6 percent, to 12.66 quadrillion won, while the market value of housing increased 571 trillion won, or 8.0 percent, to 7.71 quadrillion won, the fastest increase since 2021.

Nearly 93 percent of the increase in housing values came from the Seoul metropolitan area, underscoring how concentrated the property recovery remained.

The asset rally substantially strengthened household balance sheets.

Net wealth held by households and nonprofit institutions jumped 9.0 percent, or 1.17 quadrillion won, to 14.20 quadrillion won, the strongest increase in four years.

Household net financial assets increased by 674 trillion won and non-financial assets by 494 trillion won, helped by a 534 trillion won increase in housing values and a 525 trillion won gain in equity and investment fund holdings.
  The same market rally had the opposite effect on non-financial corporations.

Their net worth fell 21.6 percent, or 1.01 quadrillion won, as the higher market value of listed shares they had issued was recorded as an increase in financial liabilities under national accounting rules, outweighing gains in their real assets.

Officials said 60 percent of last year's increase in national wealth came from transactions such as asset accumulation, while the remaining 40 percent reflected valuation and other changes.

Holding gains on non-financial assets totaled 610 trillion won, but these were largely offset by the deterioration in the country's net financial position caused by the revaluation of foreign-owned Korean equities.

Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.