Korea's Wealthy Class Is Quietly Shifting: The Rise of Crypto and Gold Over Real Estate

Korea’s high-net-worth individuals are making a major portfolio realignment, according to the latest “2025 Korea Wealth Report” released by KB Financial Group. The data reveals a striking trend that challenges traditional wealth management strategies in the nation.

The Growing Wealth Gap

The numbers paint a compelling picture of Korea’s expanding affluent class. The number of high-net-worth individuals—those holding over 1 billion KRW in combined financial and real estate assets—has surged from 130,000 in 2011 to 476,000 in 2025, representing a robust 9.7% annual growth rate. More impressively, their collective financial assets have exploded from 1,158 trillion KRW to 3,066 trillion KRW during the same period, growing at an average annual rate of 7.2%. This year marks a historic milestone: total wealth among this group has crossed the 3,000 trillion KRW threshold for the first time.

The Portfolio Rotation: Out with Real Estate, In with Alternatives

What’s particularly noteworthy is how these wealthy individuals are rebalancing their investment portfolios. The traditional reliance on real estate as a primary wealth repository is losing ground. Simultaneously, alternative assets are gaining traction—particularly crypto assets and physical assets like gold and jewelry, which are capturing an increasingly larger share of their overall holdings.

This shift suggests a fundamental change in how Korea’s ultra-wealthy view risk, diversification, and long-term wealth preservation. Rather than concentration in a single asset class, they’re adopting a more sophisticated, multi-asset approach.

What This Means for the Market

The reallocation toward crypto and precious metals signals growing confidence in digital assets as legitimate wealth stores, even among the most conservative, established wealth holders. For crypto advocates, this represents institutional-grade validation at the individual investor level.