{"id":10246,"date":"2026-08-04T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/guru.today\/?p=10246"},"modified":"2026-08-03T22:07:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T05:07:51","slug":"south-korea-gold-reserves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guru.today\/?p=10246","title":{"rendered":"South Korea Turns to Domestic Gold as Central Bank Rethinks Its Reserve Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/guru.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/gold-2-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6708\" srcset=\"https:\/\/guru.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/gold-2-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/guru.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/gold-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/guru.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/gold-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/guru.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/gold-2-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/guru.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/gold-2.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Photo=MotionElements)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">South Korea is preparing to buy physical gold for the first time in 13 years, a shift that highlights how one of Asia\u2019s largest holders of foreign exchange reserves is reconsidering the balance of assets it relies on during periods of geopolitical and financial uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Bank of Korea said it has established a system to purchase gold produced by South Korean smelters before the metal is exported. The plan would allow the central bank to pay in Korean won, store newly acquired bullion inside the country and reduce some of the currency exposure involved in buying gold overseas with U.S. dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move does not signal that South Korea is abandoning the dollar. The country remains heavily dependent on dollar denominated assets to manage its currency and support an export driven economy closely tied to global trade. Instead, the plan represents a limited effort to diversify reserves that remain unusually light on gold compared with those of other major economies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">South Korea has the world\u2019s 13th largest foreign exchange reserves, but gold accounts for just 3.5 percent of the total. The Bank of Korea held 104.4 metric tons as of July, ranking 39th among central banks when the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank are excluded. Its last purchase came in 2013, when it acquired 20 tons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By comparison, gold makes up 9.5 percent of Japan\u2019s reserves and more than 80 percent of reserves held by the United States, Germany and France. Those comparisons do not mean South Korea intends to raise its gold holdings to similar levels. The Bank of Korea has not decided when purchases will begin or how much it will buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The central bank\u2019s new approach relies on South Korea\u2019s own metals industry. LS MnM, a major domestic copper smelter, and Korea Zinc, one of the world\u2019s largest zinc and lead producers, recover gold as a byproduct while processing nonferrous metals. Some of that gold is normally sold abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the proposed system, the Bank of Korea could purchase portions of those export bound supplies at international market prices when producers offer them for sale. The Korea Exchange, which operates South Korea\u2019s main financial and commodities markets, would provide trading and settlement infrastructure. The Korea Securities Depository, the country\u2019s central securities custody and settlement institution, is preparing facilities to store the gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The purchases would take place through large private transactions rather than on the public market, limiting the risk of distorting domestic gold prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the Bank of Korea, buying locally produced bullion offers practical advantages. Previous purchases required the central bank to use dollars in overseas markets, while the new arrangement would permit payment in won and keep the metal inside South Korea. The country\u2019s existing gold holdings have largely been stored in the Bank of England\u2019s vaults in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The central bank has also begun buying U.S. exchange traded funds backed by gold. Those investments started in the second quarter, although they are recorded as securities rather than gold in South Korea\u2019s official reserve data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decision comes as central banks are paying greater attention to assets that can retain value during wars, trade disputes and financial market instability. The Bank of Korea said heightened geopolitical risks had increased interest in safe haven assets and that a recent decline in gold prices had reduced the cost of restarting purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">South Korea\u2019s plan remains preliminary, and the size of any future buying may be modest. Its significance lies less in the amount of gold involved than in the method. By sourcing bullion from domestic industry, paying in its own currency and storing the metal at home, the Bank of Korea is adding another layer to a reserve system that has long depended heavily on foreign currencies and overseas financial markets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South Korea is preparing to buy physical gold for the first time in 13 years, a shift that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38,30,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-stories","category-money-matters","category-top-section"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>South Korea Gold Reserves Strategy Shifts After 13 Years<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"South Korea gold reserves strategy changes as the central bank plans domestic gold purchases to diversify foreign exchange assets amid global risks.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/guru.today\/?p=10246\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"South Korea Turns to Domestic Gold as Central Bank Rethinks Its Reserve Strategy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Korea gold reserves strategy changes as the central bank plans domestic gold purchases to diversify foreign exchange assets amid global risks.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/guru.today\/?p=10246\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GURU TODAY\" \/>\n<meta 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