The wealthiest 0.1% of households in South Korea hold 360 trillion won ($252 billion) in net worth, equal to 3.4% of all household net worth in the country. Their wealth is growing nearly three times as fast as that of the next tier — the top 0.1% to 1% — in what analysts describe as an intensifying concentration of assets at the very top.
An analysis of microdata from the National Data Agency' Household Finance and Welfare Survey, released on the 18th, showed the combined net worth of the top 0.1% of Korean households rose more than 95% to 357.2 trillion won ($250 billion) last year from 183.1 trillion won in 2021. Over the same period, assets held by the top 0.1% to 1% grew 34.4% to 1,000.2 trillion won from 743.9 trillion won. For the top 1% to 10%, assets rose just 26.8% to 3,493 trillion won from 2,753.7 trillion won.
Experts warn that the concentration of wealth is accelerating too quickly. The pattern goes beyond a widening gap between the rich and the middle class: the distance between the ultra-wealthy and the merely wealthy is also growing to the point where it is difficult to close.
Net worth per household in the top 0.1% climbed more than 6.1 billion won over the period, to 15.75 billion won from 9.62 billion won. Households in the top 0.1% to 1% added about 1 billion won, rising to 4.98 billion won from 3.99 billion won. Those in the top 1% to 10% gained just 250 million won, to 1.74 billion won from 1.49 billion won.
The pace of asset concentration in Korea exceeds that of the United States. According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, net worth for the top 0.1% of American households rose about 109% from the end of 2019 through the second quarter of this year. In Korea, net worth for the top 0.1% grew 124% between 2019 and 2025. Given the surge in stock and home prices in the first half of this year, the gap has likely widened further.
Economists attribute Korea's asset concentration largely to disparities in home prices. "When property prices rise, those who already own real estate can grow their assets further, while the barrier to entry gets higher for those trying to buy later," said Huh Jung, a professor of economics at Sogang University. "Wealthy buyers with large cash reserves are less affected by lending restrictions, so the asset gap created through real estate can widen even more."