Amid an increasing exodus of high-net-worth individuals, South Korea’s net outflow of wealth is projected to be the fourth highest in the world this year. On June 18, British investment immigration consulting firm Henley & Partners quoted data from wealth information company New World Wealth in its 2024 Henley Private Wealth Migration Report to analyze the inflow and outflow of high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) by country. The report defined the inflow and outflow of high-net-worth individuals as those with liquid investable assets of more than $1 million who have stayed in another country for more than six months.
According to the report, the net outflow of high-net-worth individuals from South Korea is expected to be 1,200 this year, ranking fourth after China (15,200), the United Kingdom (9,500), and India (4,300).
From 400 in 2022, it doubled to 800 in 2023, climbing to seventh place. This year, it is expected to increase by another 50%, reaching an all-time high. Wealthy individuals from South Korea are primarily moving to the United States, Australia, and Canada. Dominic Volek, Head of the Private Client Group at Henley & Partners, said this year will be a watershed for the movement of wealthy individuals. He stated, “The total migration of wealthy individuals is expected to exceed last year’s record of 120,000, reaching 128,000 this year.
Geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, and social upheaval are the reasons.”
The U.K. is expected to see more than double the net outflow of wealth compared to last year. Since the Brexit vote in 2016, there has been a significant exodus of wealth from the U.K. Over the past few decades, the wealthy from around the world have flocked to the U.K., but now there’s a reverse exodus, with a net outflow of 16,500 since 2017. The possibility of the opposition Labour Party, which aims to tax the wealthy, coming to power after the general election next month is also a factor contributing to the net outflow.
Russia ranks fifth this year with a net outflow of 1,000, which is a sharp decrease compared to 8,500 in 2022 and 2,800 in 2023 when the Ukraine war broke out. Other countries included Taiwan (400) in eighth place and Vietnam (300) in ninth place.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranks first this year with a net inflow of 6,700. With no personal income tax and ongoing efforts to attract global companies, it is drawing in the wealthy like a magnet. After the Ukraine war, Russian wealth flocked there, and now there is a large influx of British and European immigrants. Following the UAE are the United States (3,800), Singapore (3,500), Canada (3,200), and Australia (2,500). Japan ranked 10th with 400 as wealthy Chinese immigrated after COVID-19.
Volek said, “Countries with a large increase in high-net-worth individuals have actively pursued policies to attract them.” Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at New World Wealth, said, “When high-net-worth individuals immigrate, they generate foreign exchange earnings, and when they start new businesses, it creates local jobs.”
Meanwhile, South Korea was analyzed as the 15th in the world with 109,600 high-net-worth individuals. It is estimated that there are 233 individuals with assets over $1 billion and 24 with assets over $10 billion in South Korea. The number of high-net-worth individuals in South Korea has increased by 28% over the past decade since 2013.
