Minors' deposits reach 9.74 trillion won, up 17.6% since 2022; 52 hold over 1 billion won each

Infants aged 0–5 hold over 2 trillion won; 8 in 10 minors have less than 1 million won

Listed shares held by minors total 7.31 trillion won; lawmaker calls for scrutiny of fund sources

An ATM at a bank branch in Seoul. [Yonhap]
An ATM at a bank branch in Seoul. [Yonhap]

More than 50 minors in South Korea hold 1 billion won ($736,000) or more in bank deposits and savings accounts, new data shows. Total deposits held under minors' names are approaching 10 trillion won, with children aged 5 and under accounting for more than 2 trillion won of that sum. Yet the data also reveals a stark divide: roughly 8 in 10 minor account holders have balances of less than 1 million won.

According to data submitted to People Power Party lawmaker Park Sung-hoon of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee by the Korea Federation of Banks, deposits and savings held by minors aged 18 and under at 19 domestic banks stood at 9.74 trillion won as of the end of July this year.

The figure covers demand deposits, time deposits and installment savings combined, and represents a 1.45 trillion won increase — or 17.6 percent — from 8.29 trillion won at the end of 2022. Over the same period, the number of accounts held in minors' names rose by about 2.38 million, or 36 percent, from about 6.62 million to about 9 million.

When deposits across multiple accounts were combined on a per-person basis, 2,419 minors held between 100 million won and 500 million won. Another 124 held between 500 million won and 1 billion won, while 52 held 1 billion won or more.

In total, 2,595 minors held 100 million won or more in deposits, of whom 176 held 500 million won or more. The number holding 1 billion won or more rose from 42 at the end of last year to 52 as of the end of July this year — an increase of 10. Over the same period, those holding 100 million won or more grew by 12, from 2,583 to 2,595.

By bank, Hana Bank had the most minors holding 100 million won or more, at 566. KB Kookmin Bank followed with 540, Shinhan Bank with 437, Woori Bank with 422 and NH NongHyup Bank with 172. Among those holding 1 billion won or more, Hana Bank had 14 and Shinhan Bank had 12.

However, because the figures are a simple aggregation of data from individual banks, some minors who hold accounts at multiple institutions may have been counted more than once.

In contrast to high-asset holders, most minors had only modest balances. Some 5.6 million minors — 77.5 percent of the roughly 7.23 million minors with deposit or savings accounts — held balances of less than 1 million won.

Even on an account-by-account basis, the concentration of large sums in minors' accounts was notable. Accounts held by minors with balances of 100 million won or more had a combined balance of about 514 billion won. Of that, accounts with balances between 500 million won and 1 billion won held about 63.9 billion won, while those with balances of 1 billion won or more held about 67.2 billion won.

By age group, children aged 6 to 12 held the largest share, with deposits totaling 3.59 trillion won. Those aged 16 to 18 followed at 2.15 trillion won, children aged 5 and under at 2.14 trillion won, and those aged 13 to 15 at 1.87 trillion won. Deposits held by children aged 5 and under accounted for 22 percent of all minor-held deposits, spread across about 1.12 million accounts.

The concentration of large financial assets among minors extended to the stock market as well. Separate data Park obtained from the Korea Securities Depository showed that as of the end of last year, 5,400 minors held 100 million won or more in domestically listed shares. Total listed-share holdings by minors came to 7.31 trillion won.

"It is not a matter of questioning legitimate gifts or asset formation, but there is a need to closely examine whether any blind spots exist in the reporting of fund sources and gift declarations when large financial assets are transferred to minors," Park said.


attom@heraldcorp.com