Younger millionaires favor stocks, financial investments as real estate's share declines
Younger wealthy Koreans are increasingly favoring financial investments over real estate, signaling a shift in how wealth is being built up and managed, a report showed Wednesday.
According to the “2026 Korea Wealth Report” released by Hana Institute of Finance, individuals under 50 who have accumulated more than 1 billion won ($730,000) in financial assets — dubbed “K-EMILLI” (Korea Everywhere Millionaires) — are relying more on financial investments to grow their wealth, diverging from traditional property-focused strategies.
The group, with an average age of 51, has a significantly higher proportion of salaried workers and public officials, accounting for about 30 percent — roughly double that of traditional wealthy individuals, who are more likely to be professionals or business owners.
About 44 percent of K-EMILLI members live in mid-sized apartments no bigger than around 30 pyeong (approximately 99 square meters), often referred to as the “national standard” housing type.
While the group primarily built initial capital — averaging 850 million won — through savings and deposits, they have increasingly turned to income growth and financial investment returns to expand their wealth.
In terms of portfolio allocation, financial assets among K-EMILLI are composed of 54 percent savings-type assets and 46 percent investment assets, with the latter exceeding the share seen among traditional wealthy groups.
Nearly half of respondents, or 48 percent, said financial investments are a better way to generate wealth than real estate, compared with 43 percent among existing high-net-worth individuals.
The trend is not limited to younger wealthy groups. Across Korea’s affluent population, the share of real estate in asset portfolios fell from 63 percent to 52 percent over the past five years, while financial assets rose from 35 percent to 46 percent.
The report said the long-held belief in real estate as a guaranteed path to wealth is weakening, with the focus of asset management shifting toward financial investments.
“Financial institutions need to make new efforts to establish themselves as true wealth management partners,” the institute said.
jwc@heraldcorp.com
