Assemblyman Kim Hoe-jae, "Under-20s received 12 trillion won in gifts last year... Jumped 2.4 times compared to 2020"

70,000 People Under 20 Receive Gifts... Average 170 Million KRW Per Person

Over 926.1 Billion KRW Gifted to Under 10s... "K-Shaped Asset Polarization, Finance Must Play a Bigger Role"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] It has been revealed that the assets gifted to individuals aged 20 and under last year amounted to 12 trillion won. This represents a 2.4-fold increase compared to 2020.

According to data on the "Status of gifted assets to those aged 20 and under over the past five years," submitted by the National Tax Service to Kim Hoe-jae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Jeonnam Yeosu-si Eul), the assets gifted to individuals aged 20 and under last year totaled 11.91 trillion won.

The number of recipients was 70,115, meaning that on average, each person received assets worth 170 million won.

The gifted assets to those aged 20 and under, which were around 3.82 trillion won in 2017, increased to 4.92 trillion won in 2018 and 5.21 trillion won in 2019, then decreased to 4.89 trillion won in 2020, but surged sharply to 2.4 times that amount last year compared to 2020.

It is estimated that many wealthy individuals chose to gift assets as asset prices continued to rise amid a low-interest-rate environment.

By age group, the gifted assets last year were highest among those in their 20s at 9.15 trillion won, followed by teenagers at 1.83 trillion won, and those under 10 years old at 926.1 billion won.

Compared to 2020, this represents an increase of 5.45 trillion won for those in their 20s, 1.06 trillion won for teenagers, and 502 billion won for those under 10 years old.

The number of recipients was 46,756 for those in their 20s, 13,975 for teenagers, and 9,384 for those under 10 years old.

Accordingly, the average gifted assets per person were 200 million won for those in their 20s, 130 million won for teenagers, and 100 million won for those under 10 years old.

Assemblyman Kim Hoe-jae stated, "K-shaped asset polarization has emerged due to COVID-19 inequality," and added, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration should shift its national policy direction to allow the budget to play a greater role, such as supporting assets of vulnerable groups instead of providing tax cuts for the wealthy."

He further emphasized, "We must actively pursue measures to use inheritance and gift taxes from high-net-worth individuals to alleviate asset disparities among young people and promote balanced national development."

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.