Koreans still prefer putting extra money into bank deposits rather than stock accounts, a government survey showed.
According to the "2025 Household Financial Welfare Survey" released by the National Data Agency on Wednesday, 87.3% of respondents said they prefer investing in bank deposits among financial assets. Stocks (9.6%) and private pensions (1.7%) followed. While deposits and private pensions showed no change from the previous year, the preference for stocks actually declined by 0.2 percentage points.
However, the survey was conducted in late March this year, when the impeachment crisis was at its peak and the KOSPI remained at the 2,500 level. This likely explains the decreased preference for stocks in the survey responses.
As of late March, the average financial assets of Korean households stood at 136.9 million won ($101 million). Excluding rental deposits of 37.3 million won, households held approximately 100 million won in financial assets on average.
While deposits are still estimated to account for the majority, the proportion of stocks has likely increased recently as the KOSPI broke through the 4,000 level. According to the "Korea Financial Consumer Report 2025" released by Hana Bank's Hana Financial Research Institute in January (an online survey of 5,000 financial consumers), respondents held 123.88 million won in financial assets on average, with average stock investments of 46.37 million won (37% of financial assets). They invested 28.22 million won in domestic stocks and 16.19 million won in foreign stocks. Given the nature of the surveying institution, the results likely reflect the views of active stock investors.
If authorities expand tax benefits for Individual Savings Accounts (ISA), both the proportion of stocks in household financial assets and the preference for stocks could increase.
