Seoul, July 17 (IANS) South Korea’s per capita household net assets rose more than 3 percent from a year earlier in 2024, driven by rising home prices and the growth in financial assets, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The average value of net assets held by local households stood at 252.51 million won (US$181,570) last year, up 3.3 percent from the previous year, according to the national balance sheet from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

When converted into U.S. dollars using the average 2024 exchange rate of 1,363 won per dollar, the figure stood at $185,000, slightly down from $187,000 in 2023.

But it was higher than Japan’s $180,000, with South Korea surpassing Japan in this metric for three consecutive years.

The figure for the United States came to $521,000, followed by Australia at $401,000, Canada $295,000, France $230,000 and Britain $206,000, the data showed.

South Korea’s total national assets reached 24,105 trillion won at the end of 2024, up 5.3 percent from a year earlier. It marked an acceleration from the 1.3 percent growth recorded in 2023.

Net national wealth was 9.4 times the country’s nominal GDP of 2,557 trillion won as of end-2024.

The increase was attributable to an increase in the value of non-financial assets, such as land and housing, which climbed 2.9 percent on-year to 22,485 trillion won.

Those assets accounted for 93.3 percent of the total national assets.

Financial assets surged 56 percent on-year to 1,620 trillion won, driven by strong overseas investments and the won-dollar exchange rate.

“Individual Korean investors significantly increased their investments in overseas stocks and bonds, and the valuation gains from those investments also grew substantially,” a BOK official said.

“The solid performance in overseas stock markets and the strong dollar boosted the valuation of foreign financial assets held by Koreans,” he added.

—IANS

na/