An employee examines a dollar bill at the Counterfeit Response Center at KEB Hana Bank’s headquarters. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Gold and dollar deposits at South Korea’s major banks have reached record highs as investors seek safe-haven assets amid global economic uncertainty and a strong U.S. dollar.
According to financial industry data released on February 18, the combined balance of dollar deposits at the country’s five largest banks—KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH NongHyup—stood at $67.65 billion as of February 14. This marks the highest level in over two years, approaching the $68.23 billion recorded at the end of January 2023.
Despite the highest won-dollar exchange rates since the global financial crisis, many investors are opting to buy rather than sell dollars, signaling a shift toward more aggressive foreign currency holdings. The latest figures represent a 6.0% increase from the $63.79 billion recorded at the end of 2024 and a 6.5% rise from the previous month’s $63.53 billion.
Notably, dollar deposit balances fluctuated between $63 billion and $64 billion earlier in February before surging past $67 billion on February 14, ahead of the U.S. President’s Day holiday. Analysts attribute this spike to heightened demand for safe assets amid global economic concerns.
South Korean investors are increasingly turning to gold as a safe-haven asset. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Gold Banking Sees Unprecedented Growth
Alongside the rise in dollar deposits, South Korean investors are also turning to gold banking, a system that allows individuals to buy and sell gold through bank accounts.
As of February 14, the gold banking balances at KB Kookmin, Shinhan, and Woori Bank reached KRW 901.9 billion ($622 million), surpassing the KRW 900 billion mark for the first time. This represents a 15.3% increase from KRW 782.2 billion at the end of 2024 and an 8.0% rise from the KRW 835.3 billion recorded in January 2025.
Although gold bar sales slowed slightly due to supply constraints—partly because banks such as KB Kookmin and Woori temporarily suspended sales—the demand remains strong. Between February 1 and 14, the five major banks sold KRW 50.2 billion ($34.6 million) worth of gold bars, an all-time high for this period. However, daily sales on February 14 fell to KRW 9.6 billion ($6.6 million), an 11.3% decline from the previous day.
On February 17, KB Kookmin briefly resumed the sale of 1kg gold bars but had to halt transactions again within a day due to supply shortages.
A bank official noted, “With gold bars becoming harder to acquire, more customers are shifting their investments to gold banking accounts and dollar deposits as alternative safe-haven assets.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
