Bank of Korea Re-Enters Gold Market with $250 Million ETF Investment

The Bank of Korea has made its first gold investment in 13 years by purchasing $250 million worth of the SPDR Gold Trust, a gold ETF listed on the U.S. market.

The central bank held about 679,765 shares of the ETF as of June 30, valued at $250.41 million or approximately 355 billion won.

This move is likely to expand the BOK's gold-related assets going forward, as it has also signaled plans to purchase physical gold in addition to the ETFs.

The BOK currently holds about 104 tons of physical gold and plans to buy domestically produced gold intended for export, although the timing for resuming physical gold purchases has not been set.