The overall ETF market has ballooned alongside the domestic stock rally. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s exchange-traded fund (ETF) market has entered a new era, surpassing 250 trillion won ($180 billion) in total assets and reshaping what it means to be a “mega fund” in one of the country’s fastest-growing financial sectors.
According to data from the Korea Securities Depository released Tuesday, the number of ETFs with more than 1 trillion won in assets under management has more than doubled in less than two years—from 26 at the start of 2023 to 53 as of this month. The so-called “1 Trillion Won Club” now accounts for 5.2 percent of all listed ETFs, up from 3.2 percent early last year.
The overall ETF market has ballooned alongside the domestic stock rally. Total assets jumped from 121.5 trillion won at the beginning of 2023 to nearly 255 trillion won this month, roughly doubling in under two years. The milestone comes just 16 months after the market first crossed the 200-trillion-won threshold in June 2024.
A shift in market leadership has also emerged. Once dominated by fixed-income and interest-rate products favored by institutional investors, the top-ranked ETF by assets is now TIGER U.S. S&P 500, a fund tracking U.S. equities with strong participation from retail investors. It overtook KODEX Active Rate and TIGER CD Rate Investment KIS, which previously led the market.
The symbolic “1 trillion won” threshold, long seen as a marker of prestige dating back to the era of traditional mutual funds, has become less exclusive as the market expands. Still, analysts say the milestone retains its marketing power.
“As the ETF market matures, the meaning of the 1 trillion mark has inevitably changed,” said an official at a major Korean asset management firm. “But crossing that level still carries strong psychological weight, especially for stock-based ETFs where reaching that scale remains difficult.”
Since ETFs were first introduced to Korea in 2002, they have grown into a mainstream investment vehicle, prized for low fees, transparency, and liquidity. As the market broadens, analysts expect competition among large-scale ETFs—both domestic and overseas equity-linked—to intensify, marking a new phase in Korea’s retail investment boom.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
