Data show 52 minors each hold 1 billion won or more in bank deposits
Version 2: More outlets have now published the same dataset, adding age-group, bank-by-bank and account-level breakdowns, separate stock-holding figures and a caveat that the per-bank totals may double-count minors who use several banks.
In short
Data obtained by Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the People Power Party from the Korea Federation of Banks show that 52 minors each held 1 billion won or more in deposits at 19 domestic banks as of the end of July, up from 42 at the end of last year. Deposits in the names of under-18s totalled 9.7413 trillion won, up 17.6% from the end of 2022, while 77.5% of underage depositors held less than 1 million won. Park said normal gifting and asset-building should not be treated as a problem but called for scrutiny of source-of-funds checks and gift reporting.
Read the full story 3 min read
Data obtained by Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, from the Korea Federation of Banks show that 52 people aged 18 or under each held 1 billion won or more in deposits and instalment savings at 19 domestic deposit-taking banks as of the end of July, Yonhap reported. A total of 2,595 minors held at least 100 million won. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 ]
Deposits and instalment savings held in the names of minors totalled 9.7413 trillion won as of the end of July, up 1.4548 trillion won, or 17.6%, from 8.2865 trillion won at the end of 2022, the data show. The number of underage accounts rose over the same period to 8,995,055 from 6,615,941, an increase of 2,379,114 accounts, or 36.0%. [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 ]
Within the group, 2,419 minors held between 100 million and 500 million won, 124 held between 500 million and 1 billion won, and 176 held 500 million won or more, the documents say. The number of minors with 1 billion won or more rose to 52 from 42 at the end of last year, while those with 100 million won or more rose to 2,595 from 2,583. The large balances are concentrated: 5,602,273 of the 7,227,938 minors with deposits — 77.5% — held less than 1 million won. [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 ]
By bank, Hana Bank had the most customers holding 100 million won or more at 566, followed by KB Kookmin Bank at 540, Shinhan Bank at 437, Woori Bank at 422 and NH NongHyup Bank at 172, according to the data. Among those holding 1 billion won or more, Hana Bank had 14 and Shinhan Bank 12. Yonhap and Seoul Economic Daily noted that the figures are sums of individual bank tallies and may double-count a minor who uses more than one bank. [ 3 , 6 , 10 ]
By age, deposits held in the names of children aged 0 to 5 totalled 2.1399 trillion won, or 22.0% of the total, across 1,123,996 accounts. The 6-to-12 group held the largest share at 3.5864 trillion won, followed by 16-to-18 at 2.1463 trillion won and 13-to-15 at 1.8688 trillion won. Accounts holding 100 million won or more contained about 514 billion won in total, the documents say. [ 3 , 6 , 10 ]
Separate data from the Korea Securities Depository, also obtained by Park, showed that 5,400 minors held more than 100 million won in domestic listed shares at the end of last year, with total underage stockholdings of 7.3113 trillion won. [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 10 ]
Park said it is not a matter to take issue with when gifts or asset-building are normal, but that authorities should examine closely whether there are blind spots in source-of-funds checks and gift reporting when large financial assets are transferred to minors, according to the reports. Seoul Economic Daily noted that under the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act, direct ascendants may give a minor child up to 20 million won over 10 years free of gift tax, with filing and payment required above that. The same outlet said the data do not show how the deposits were built up, so it is not known how much came through gifts or inheritance. [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 10 ]
Why it matters
The figures draw attention to how large financial assets are transferred to minors in Korea, and the lawmaker who released them is asking whether source-of-funds checks and gift reporting leave gaps. Because the data were submitted by the Korea Federation of Banks to a parliamentary committee, they may feed debate over oversight and taxation of wealth transfers. The documents record no response from the banks or from financial regulators.
Key facts
- As of the end of July, 52 minors each held 1 billion won or more in bank deposits and instalment savings, according to data Rep. Park Sung-hoon obtained from the Korea Federation of Banks. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]
- Deposits and savings in the names of people aged 18 or under totalled 9.7413 trillion won at 19 domestic deposit-taking banks, up 17.6% from 8.2865 trillion won at the end of 2022. [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 12 , 13 ]
- The number of underage deposit accounts rose to 8,995,055 from 6,615,941 at the end of 2022, an increase of 2,379,114 accounts, or 36.0%. [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 13 ]
- A total of 2,595 minors held 100 million won or more, of whom 176 held 500 million won or more. [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 ]
- Of 7,227,938 minors with deposits, 5,602,273 — 77.5% — held less than 1 million won. [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 10 ]
- Hana Bank had the most customers holding 100 million won or more at 566, followed by KB Kookmin at 540, Shinhan at 437, Woori at 422 and NH NongHyup at 172. [ 3 , 6 , 10 ]
- Deposits held in the names of children aged 0 to 5 totalled 2.1399 trillion won, or 22.0% of the underage total, across 1,123,996 accounts. [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 10 , 12 , 13 ]
- Separate data from the Korea Securities Depository showed 5,400 minors held more than 100 million won in domestic listed shares at the end of last year, with total underage holdings of 7.3113 trillion won. [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 10 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- As of the end of July, 52 minors each held 1 billion won or more in deposits and instalment savings at domestic banks, according to data Rep. Park Sung-hoon obtained from the Korea Federation of Banks. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]
- Deposits and savings in the names of people aged 18 or under totalled 9.7413 trillion won at 19 domestic deposit-taking banks, up 1.4548 trillion won, or 17.6%, from 8.2865 trillion won at the end of 2022. [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 12 , 13 ]
- A total of 2,595 minors held 100 million won or more, of whom 176 held 500 million won or more. [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 ]
- Of 7,227,938 minors with deposits, 5,602,273 — 77.5% — held less than 1 million won. [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 10 ]
- Rep. Park said normal gifts and asset-building should not be treated as a problem, but called for checking whether there are blind spots in source-of-funds checks and gift reporting. [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 10 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the 52 minors holding 1 billion won or more is an exact headcount. Yonhap and Seoul Economic Daily both reported that the per-bank figures were added together and could double-count a minor who uses more than one bank.
- How the minors accumulated the assets, and where the money came from. Seoul Economic Daily said the data contain no information on how the deposits were formed, so it is unknown how much arrived through gifts or inheritance.
- Any response from the banks, financial authorities or tax officials. None of the documents carries comment from the banks or from regulators.
- Figures for cases in which minors hold tens of billions of won. Maeil Business quoted Rep. Park referring to cases of tens of billions of won accumulated in minors' names, but no such figure appears in the dataset itself.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Kukmin Ilbo reports that 2,595 minors each hold 100 million won or more in bank deposits. [ 1 ]
- Kukmin Ilbo reports that underage deposits are approaching 10 trillion won, with 52 minors holding 1 billion won or more. [ 2 ]
- Yonhap publishes the lawmaker's dataset in detail, including the account, age-group and bank breakdowns and separate stock-holding figures. [ 3 ]
- Korea Economic Daily reports the figure of 52 minors holding 1 billion won or more. [ 4 ]
- Chosun Ilbo publishes a summary of the data. [ 5 ]
- Asia Economy, Maeil Business, Dong-A Ilbo, Newsis and Seoul Economic Daily publish follow-up reports with the same figures and Rep. Park's comments. [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]
- Korea Economic Daily, Chosun Ilbo and Asia Economy publish further items on the same data. [ 11 , 12 , 13 ]