Not Just Parents Investing in Stocks! South Korean Infant Investment Accounts Surge Threefold, Giving Babies Their 'First Stock'

Young parents in South Korea are not only investing in the stock market themselves but have recently sparked an unprecedented 'infant investment boom,' with many opening securities investment accounts for their children before they even learn to crawl, hoping to use the power of time and compound interest to lay a solid long-term financial foundation for the next generation.

According to CNBC, citing the latest statistics from Mirae Asset Securities—the largest brokerage firm in South Korea—the number of securities accounts held by infants under one year old surged nearly threefold compared to the same period in 2025, reaching approximately 15,000 by June. Excluding duplicate accounts, the number of new accounts opened for children under nine has risen sharply by nearly 60%, totaling 185,000.

This investment surge is fueled by the strong stock market performance driven by South Korea’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector, triggering a cross-generational trend in asset planning. However, due to the high volatility of the domestic stock market, many parents are now turning their attention to overseas markets.

Lee Hye-won, a nurse (name transliterated), told foreign media that she and her husband believe long-term stock investments offer far greater benefits than simply depositing money into fixed savings accounts. She revealed that when managing her children’s accounts, the length of the investment period matters more than the amount invested. "That’s why we opened an account for our eldest son when he was four, and immediately opened one for our second son at birth."

This family currently invests a regular monthly amount of 300,000 to 400,000 Korean won (approximately NT$6,872 to NT$9,162) into ETF products that track the U.S. S&P 500 Index.

Another office worker, Lee Jun-hyeok (name transliterated), has adopted a similar strategy, opening an investment account for his daughter right after her birth, aiming to give her the 'gift of time' and compound interest. In addition to overseas assets, he also makes small, regular investments in South Korea’s leading semiconductor companies and U.S.-based physical AI-related stocks, betting on their enormous long-term growth potential.

Jae-joon Woo, an economics professor at DePaul University, analyzed that as long as the stock market is viewed as a reliable channel for accumulating long-term wealth, parents will continue opening accounts for their children despite market fluctuations. This indicates a gradual shift in South Korean household asset allocation, moving away from the traditional preference for real estate as the dominant asset class.

According to surveys by South Korea’s Treasury and Statistics Office, as much as three-quarters of Korean household assets were previously concentrated in real estate and other tangible assets, with financial assets making up only a small proportion.

Jeong-woo Park, a senior economist at Nomura Securities in South Korea, pointed out that the relatively high capital gains tax on real estate is one of the main reasons pushing people toward the stock market. Under National Tax Service regulations, the capital gains tax rate for owning a single property for over two years ranges from 6% to 45% on a progressive scale. However, if sold within one year, the rate jumps to between 40% and 70%. In contrast, individual retail investors trading domestically listed stocks are mostly exempt from capital gains taxes.

Additionally, under current tax rules, minor children can receive up to 20 million Korean won (approximately NT$458,000) in non-taxable gifts once every ten years, attracting many parents to utilize this allowance to help their children begin stock investments early.

Seeing the business opportunity in this 'child investor' trend, KakaoPay Securities—affiliated with the Kakao Group—recently announced plans to gift stocks worth 100,000 Korean won (approximately NT$2,290) to every newborn infant next year, aiming to expand its potential customer base.

Moreover, South Korea’s financial regulatory authorities relaxed regulations in 2023, allowing legal guardians to remotely open accounts for minors directly via smartphones, eliminating the need for cumbersome in-person branch visits. This significantly lowered the barrier to entry and indirectly fueled the surge in infant account openings.