Non-financial assets, including real estate, accounted for nearly 65 percent of South Korean household portfolios in 2024, a report showed Monday, highlighting the need to diversify investment to enhance liquidity.
According to a study by the Federation of Korean Industries, non-financial holdings made up 64.5 percent of South Korean household portfolios, surpassing the United States at 32 percent, Japan at 36.4 percent and Britain at 51.6 percent.
The survey also found South Koreans favored cash over other securities in their financial holdings, with cash accounting for 46.3 percent in 2024, up from 43.4 percent in 2020.
Insurance and pension products followed at 28 percent, while financial investment instruments accounted for 24 percent of cashable asset holdings, the report said.
“Households’ excessive concentration in real estate investment is limiting the flow of funds into productive areas such as corporate investment,” Lee Sang-ho, head of the FKI’s research department, said in a release.
“We need to establish a structure in which financial investment drives corporate growth and household wealth accumulation,” Lee said. (Yonhap)
