There Are Already 52 Minors in Korea With Over 1 Billion Won in Bank Accounts

2,595 Minors Hold Over 100 Million Won; 176 With Over 500 Million Won
5,400 Minors Own More Than 100 Million Won in Listed Stocks
"Need to Examine for Any Blind Spots in Gifting or Asset Formation"

It has been found that the number of minors holding more than 1 billion won in deposits and savings at domestic banks has surpassed 50. The total amount of deposits and savings accounts under the names of minors has also been tallied at nearly 10 trillion won.

According to Yonhap News Agency on October 5, quoting data submitted by Rep. Park Sunghoon of the People Power Party—who serves on the National Assembly's National Policy Committee—based on information from the Korea Federation of Banks, as of the end of July this year, minors (aged 18 and under) held a combined total of 9.7413 trillion won in deposits and savings accounts at 19 domestic deposit banks. This represents an increase of 1.4548 trillion won, or 17.6%, compared to 8.2865 trillion won at the end of 2022.

The number of deposit and savings accounts owned by minors has also grown significantly. At the end of 2022, there were 6,615,941 such accounts; by the end of July this year, the figure had risen to 8,995,055, an increase of 2,379,114 accounts, or 36.0%.

ATMs of commercial banks located in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

A considerable number of minors were found to hold substantial financial assets when combining their individual deposits and savings. There were 2,595 minors holding at least 100 million won each. Of these, the largest group—2,419 minors—held between 100 million and less than 500 million won. There were 124 minors with 500 million won or more but less than 1 billion won. Notably, 52 minors were found to possess more than 1 billion won, an increase of 10 from 42 at the end of last year.

By bank, Hana Bank was found to have the largest number of minors with at least 100 million won, at 566, followed by KB Kookmin Bank with 540, Shinhan Bank with 437, Woori Bank with 422, and NH Nonghyup Bank with 172. For those with more than 1 billion won, Hana Bank had 14, and Shinhan Bank 12, the highest among the banks surveyed.

However, the majority of minors' deposit and savings balances were generally small. Minors holding less than 1 million won accounted for 5,602,273 individuals, representing 77.5% of all minors with deposit and savings accounts.

By age group, minors aged 0-5 held 2.1399 trillion won, accounting for 22.0% of the total. The largest amount was held by those aged 6-12 at 3.5864 trillion won, followed by 2.1463 trillion won among those aged 16-18, and 1.8688 trillion won among those aged 13-15.

The phenomenon of high-value holdings among minors is also reflected in the stock market. According to data Rep. Park obtained from the Korea Securities Depository, at the end of last year, there were 5,400 minors holding more than 100 million won in domestic listed stocks. The total value of stocks held by these minors reached 7.3113 trillion won.

Rep. Park noted, "While it is not necessarily problematic for minors to receive assets through legitimate gifts or to form assets, it is important to examine whether there are any blind spots in tracking the source of funds and reporting for large-scale financial asset transfers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.