Bank of Korea Buys Back into Gold Amid Rising Safe-Haven Demand

The Bank of Korea has announced that it will resume purchasing physical gold for the first time in 13 years, citing rising safe-haven demand. The bank plans to buy around 1 ton of gold on December 14, valued at approximately 200 billion won.

This move marks a shift from the bank's previous investment strategy, which focused on stocks due to their liquidity and solid returns. However, with international gold prices rising after 2023, the need for the Bank of Korea to diversify its investments has increased.

The bank currently holds 104.4 tons of gold, valued at around 20.4 trillion won, which accounts for about 1.1% of its foreign exchange reserves. This is below the median share of gold assets held by top countries with significant foreign exchange reserves.