Samsung Electronics shares are turning up in the accounts of toddlers. The total number of minor shareholders in South Korea has fallen, yet the value of the stocks they hold has topped 7 trillion won.
The number of minors holding at least 100 million won in domestically listed stocks reached 5,400 at the end of last year, up 92.9% from 2,800 a year earlier, according to data submitted by the Korea Securities Depository to Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's National Policy Committee, on the 15th. The bracket holding between 50 million won and 100 million won jumped 127.3% to 10,000 from 4,400. Holders of less than 10 million won, by contrast, declined to 606,800 from 676,600.
The overall number of minor shareholders turned lower, falling to 769,600 at the end of last year from 773,400 at the end of 2024. Even as the shareholder count shrank, the appraised value of their holdings swelled to 7.31 trillion won from 4.65 trillion won. The base of ownership did not widen; the largest holders simply got bigger.
No Exception Under Age 10 — Holders Fall, Assets Rise 47%
The concentration is more pronounced among children under 10. The number of stockholders in that age group fell by more than 20,000 to 232,100 last year from 254,700 in 2024, but the appraised value of their holdings rose 47.0% to 1.84 trillion won from 1.25 trillion won.
As parents accelerate transfers of shares into their children's names, asset concentration grows heavier at younger ages. Because the Korea Securities Depository compiles its figures using closing prices on the final trading day of each year, however, part of the increase reflects gains in the stock market.
Minor investors concentrated their purchases in large-cap stocks and products tracking U.S. indexes. In net-buying data for accounts held by minors compiled by a major domestic brokerage as of the 10th of this month, Samsung Electronics ranked first at 51.5 billion won. SK hynix followed at 34.9 billion won, with Hyundai Motor at 10.9 billion won. Among exchange-traded funds, TIGER U.S. S&P 500 led at 25 billion won, while KODEX U.S. Nasdaq 100 at 13.9 billion won and KODEX U.S. S&P 500 at 10.2 billion won rounded out a top tier dominated by products tracking U.S. indexes.
"The fact that stock holdings by minors have passed 7 trillion won means stock investing is no longer the exclusive domain of adults," Park said. "Separate from the positive side of a broader investor base, we need to look closely at whether irregular gifting or blind spots in the sourcing of funds are arising as parents' assets are transferred into their children's names."
