Asset Growth Accelerates: Korean ETFs Surge, Driven by Domestic Equities
Fueled by a thriving domestic stock market, South Korea’s Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) market is experiencing a significant surge in net assets, with the growth rate continuing to accelerate.
According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, the total net assets of listed ETFs in South Korea reached 354.74 trillion won ($246 billion) as of Monday. This encompasses ETFs tracking both domestic and international equities, as well as diverse underlying assets.
This represents an impressive increase of nearly 50 trillion won in just one month, following the market’s breakthrough of the 300 trillion won mark on January 5th.
As of Thursday, the figure had further climbed to 356 trillion won. Of this total, 228 trillion won is invested in ETFs tracking Korean assets, while 128 trillion won is allocated to those tracking international assets.
The South Korean ETF market originated in October 2002 with a modest offering of four products, holding a combined net asset value of 355.2 billion won. It took over two decades for the market to surpass the 100 trillion won milestone, achieving this in June 2023.
However, the pace of growth has dramatically increased since then. The market’s net assets doubled to surpass the 200 trillion won mark just two years later in June 2025. While reaching 300 trillion won took seven months, an additional inflow of over 50 trillion won was realized within a single month.
The recent surge has been primarily driven by ETFs tracking key local stock market indices, such as the Kospi 200 and Kosdaq 150, as well as those focused on the semiconductor sector.
“ETFs are exerting an increasing influence on market flows. The rapid inflows into the ETF market are now stimulating broader index movements,” noted Shin Hyun-yong, a researcher at Yuanta Securities. He further emphasized that the growth is predominantly fueled by ETFs tracking domestic equities.
“Funds channeled through ETFs are no longer merely a supplementary driver of the market; they have evolved into a major force in market supply and demand. Consequently, the price momentum driven by ETF flows could potentially expand even further.”
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