The Financial Supervisory Service's headquarters in Seoul / Yonhap

Asset management firms in Korea saw their profits soar 13 percent last year from a year earlier on a rise in commission income, data showed Sunday.

The combined net income of asset management firms here came to 1.81 trillion won ($1.23 billion) in 2024, up 208 billion won from a 1.6 trillion-won profit the previous year, according to preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

The increase was largely attributed to a rise in commission income.

The companies' combined operating income rose to 1.67 trillion won from 1.51 trillion won in 2023.

Their return-on-equity, a major gauge of profitability, stood at 11.6 percent at the end of December, up from 11.1 percent a year ago.

Total assets under management stood at 1,656.4 trillion won as of end-December, up 173.8 trillion won, or 11.7 percent, from a year earlier, according to the data.

There were 490 asset management firms here as of end-December, the FSS said. (Yonhap)