Bank of Korea Buys Gold for First Time in 13 Years, Purchasing $250M in Gold ETFs in Q2
Nashnova编辑部
The Bank of Korea returned to the gold market after 13 years, purchasing $250.4 million in SPDR Gold Trust shares in Q2 — a directional shift in reserve management, with a physical-gold procurement framework already under way.
Why an ETF instead of gold bars?
The BOK bought 679,765 shares of SPDR Gold Trust — the world's largest physical-gold ETF — worth roughly $250.4 million.
This means → the holding is booked as a "foreign security," not as official gold reserves. Physical gold stays at 104.4 tonnes, unchanged since 2013.
In plain terms = an ETF is like a claim ticket for gold: easy to trade, no vault or shipping costs, ideal for testing the waters. But in international statistics, it does not count as actually holding bullion.
How low is Korea's gold allocation?
As of end-June 2026, Korea's foreign reserves stood at $427.36 billion. Gold accounted for just $4.79 billion — roughly 1.1%.
That ratio ranks 98th out of 100 countries, above only Chile and Colombia.
This means → even a modest move toward the global average implies significant additional buying ahead.
What has the central bank signaled next?
In early August the BOK publicly announced plans to raise gold's share of reserves over the medium-to-long term and to set up a new channel for purchasing export-grade gold from domestic suppliers — the bank's first such move in nearly sixty years.
The head of the BOK's reserve-management division said geopolitical risk has become a permanent feature of the global landscape. The ETF position is step one of a "two-step" strategy; a physical-gold procurement framework is already being built.
Hanwha Investment Securities economist Choi Kyuho: "Korea's gold allocation is quite low. There is room for further purchases to align with global standards. I believe they will gradually increase holdings."
How big is the global central-bank gold rush?
World Gold Council data: central banks and official institutions added a net 289 tonnes of gold in Q2 2026 — up 62% year-on-year and 411% quarter-on-quarter, a record for any second quarter.
45% of surveyed central banks expect to add gold within the next year; 60 countries expect official gold demand to keep growing over five years.
This reflects a deeper signal: when the world's 13th-largest reserve holder starts buying from a 1.1% floor — alongside a collective central-bank bid — official gold demand is entering a structural upcycle.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.