Business · Economy · 2 hrs ago
Home-purchase debt linked to large wealth gap among South Korean owners
South Korean homeowners with similar incomes had very different net assets depending on how much debt they still owed for buying a home.
In 2025, those whose home-purchase debt was at least 40% of their home’s value had average net assets of 199.38 million won.
Homeowners with no home-purchase debt averaged 548.09 million won in net assets, about 2.7 times as much.
Net assets are what a household owns after its debts are subtracted.
The share owing at least 200 million won rose from 2.9% of middle-income owner households in 2021 to 7.5% in 2025.
The figures show that home-purchase debt can make a major difference to household wealth, even among owners with similar incomes.
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Among South Korean middle-class homeowners in 2025, average net assets differed sharply according to remaining home-purchase debt.
Households with home-purchase loan balances of at least 40% of their home value had average net assets of 199.38 million won.
Those with no home-purchase loan balance had average net assets of 548.09 million won, about 2.7 times as much.
The share of middle-class homeowners with at least 200 million won in home-purchase debt rose from 2.9% in 2021 to 7.5% in 2025.
- Who
- Middle-class South Korean homeowners.
- What
- Their average net assets varied considerably according to their remaining home-purchase debt.
- When
- The figures compare 2021 and 2025, with net-asset figures reported for 2025.
- Where
- South Korea.
- Why
- The article examines how home-purchase borrowing relates to homeowners’ assets and debts.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Middle-class homeowners with at least 200 million won in home-purchase debt made up 2.9% of the group.
The share was 7.5%; average net assets were 199.38 million won for households with loan balances at least 40% of home value and 548.09 million won for those with no such balance.
- High-debt households’ average net assets
- 199.38 million won in 2025
- No home-purchase loan balance
- Average net assets of 548.09 million won in 2025
- Net-asset difference
- No-loan households had about 2.7 times the average net assets
- Debt share in 2021
- 2.9% had at least 200 million won in home-purchase debt
- Debt share in 2025
- 7.5% had at least 200 million won in home-purchase debt