South Korean parents are ramping up efforts to give their children a head start in building long-term wealth by opening investment accounts even before they learn to crawl out of their cribs.
Brokerage accounts of kids under the age of one have nearly tripled from a year ago to about 15,000 in June at Mirae Asset Securities, the country's largest brokerage by market cap.
New accounts openings for those under 9 have soared nearly 60% to around 185,000, the brokerage said, excluding duplicate accounts.
That enthusiasm, triggered by Korea's AI-powered market rally, has sparked a trend toward generational wealth-planning, though the volatility in the domestic stock market has prompted investors to look for value beyond the border as well.
Lee Hye-won, who works as a nurse, told CNBC that she and her spouse believed investing long term was a better choice than keeping money in savings or deposit accounts.
