Settings

ⓕ font-size

  • -2
  • -1
  • 0
  • +1
  • +2

13% of Koreans unable to save money: survey

  • Facebook share button
  • Twitter share button
  • Kakao share button
  • Mail share button
  • Link share button
gettyimagesbank
gettyimagesbank

By Yoon Ja-young

Setting a financial target is the first step to prepare for a better future, but three out of 10 Koreans say that is a luxury for them. Thirteen percent of Koreans find it impossible to save anything as their expenses exceed their incomes, a report showed.

According to the 2023 financial consumer report released by the Hana Institute of Finance, Thursday, 86 percent of the 4.89 million won ($3,800) average monthly household income is spent each month on fixed expenses, which include insurance and mortgage payments. Based on a survey of 5,000 adults around the country, the report aims at examining the dynamic changes of financial consumers and their opinions of diverse current issues.

As they are left with little money after deducting such fixed expenditures, three out of 10 respondents did not have a financial goal: 17.9 percent said that simply sustaining their living is burdensome to them, while 13.4 percent said they just don't have a financial goal. The ratio was especially high among the MZ Generation, which refers to millennials and Generation Z, showing that young people cannot afford to prepare for the future.

The survey also showed that eight out of 10 Koreans invested or have considered investing in cryptocurrencies, reflecting the investment boom during the past few years. They turned to crypto investing on expectations of high investment returns, but stopped due to losses incurred. The survey showed 71.1 percent of investors sustained more than a 10 percent investment loss, which is 2.7 times more than those who reaped more than a 10 percent investment return. However, only 4.3 percent of those cryptocurrency investors said that they have much knowledge in cryptocurrency, reflecting that most of their investments weren't much different from simple betting.

The report also offered some insights into the financial industry.

Mobile apps represented the financial channel that consumers used most, regardless of banking, brokerage and insurance services. A full 82.1 percent of the respondents have used banking mobile apps within the past six months, which is 2.2 times more than those who have visited bank branches in person. While 66.2 percent of those who visited bank branches said that they go there only once each quarter, 84 percent of mobile app users said they use the app at least once a week.

However, the use of apps doesn't mean banks can simply shut down their branches. When asked why they use face-to-face channels such as bank branches, customers said they are trustworthy and they feel safe, reflecting the special value they give to such face-to-face channels. This value was appreciated not only by baby boomers but also young customers.

As key values of financial institutions, the respondents picked financial stability, honesty and trust. After those come excellence of products and convenience of channels.

While subscribing to financial products, they were mostly dissatisfied with complicated procedures and terms difficult to understand. They also found the restricted operating hours of branches and call centers inconvenient, while baby boomers and Generation X ― those born between 1966 and 1980 ― were concerned about the shutdown of offline branches.

"The need to understand and respond sensitively to fast-changing financial consumers has increased even more amid the fierce competition where boundaries have disappeared between business sectors and an economic downturn in which it is difficult to predict the future," said Yoon Sun-young, a researcher at the institute.


Yoon Ja-young yjy@koreatimes.co.kr


X
CLOSE

Top 10 Stories

go top LETTER