The Bank of Korea Makes First Gold Purchase in 13 Years, May Continue to Increase Holdings

August 13th. For the first time in 13 years, the Bank of Korea made its first purchase of gold-related assets to hedge against geopolitical and economic uncertainties. According to a filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Bank of Korea held 679,765 shares of SPDR Gold Shares as of the end of the second quarter, worth approximately $250 million.

The filing revealed that three months ago, the bank did not hold any shares of the world's largest physically-backed gold ETF. The Bank of Korea stated that this investment marks its first purchase of gold-linked assets since 2013. This purchase will not increase the bank's official gold reserves as gold ETFs are classified as securities and are part of the foreign exchange reserves. Choi Kyuho, an economist at Hana Financial Investment Securities, stated: "The Bank of Korea's current allocation to gold is relatively low. From a global standard perspective, the Bank of Korea still has room to further purchase gold. I believe they will gradually increase their gold holdings."