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Bank of Korea to buy 1 ton of gold, first purchase in 13 years
By Han Dong-hoon and Kim Hye-ran
Seoul Economic Daily
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
The Bank of Korea will buy about one ton of physical gold produced in South Korea as early as December. If the purchase goes through, it will be the central bank's first gold buying in 13 years. The move follows indirect investment through exchange-traded funds in the second quarter, signaling a more active push into gold.
The bank's Reserve Management Group plans to buy domestically produced gold at the end of this year, according to the office of Rep. Chung Tae-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee, on the 30th.
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In materials submitted to Chung's office, the bank said the necessary systems are expected to be in place around Dec. 14, allowing the first transaction to take place at that time. The central bank estimated the planned volume at around 1 ton. One ton of gold is valued at roughly 200 billion won ($140 million).
The bank halted gold purchases in February 2013. It had ramped up gold investment until then, only to face fierce criticism from politicians when prices fell. But with geopolitical risks mounting and interest in gold as a safe-haven asset growing, and amid criticism that the bank's gold holdings were smaller than those of other central banks, the bank decided this year to expand its reserves.
It officially announced in August that it would resume buying physical gold. In the second quarter, it had already purchased $250 million worth of gold exchange-traded funds, which are classified as securities.
The most likely approach for the physical purchases is to buy volumes that domestic gold producers had planned to export. The arrangement is significant because it secures a channel for buying gold in won rather than foreign currency. That allows the bank to build up safe-haven assets without dollar outflows, minimizing volatility in the domestic foreign exchange market. ...
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