Gold price today in South Korea

Gold by the don and the gram

Koreans weigh gold in don, a traditional unit of 3.75 grams; banks broker bars of 3.75 g (one don) and 37.5 g alongside gram sizes. Today the bare international price works out to about 666,065 KRW per don and 177,617 KRW per gram of 24k gold.

Commercial banks sell gold bars made by KOMSCO, the state minting agency, or by other suppliers, and offer gold banking accounts from 0.01 g. In February 2025 KOMSCO halted or cut its bar supply to banks, citing a shortage of raw material.

The KRX Gold Market

Since 24 March 2014 South Korea has had an exchange for physical gold: the KRX Gold Market. It trades only 99.99% gold, in 1-gram units, and the gold is held at the Korea Securities Depository. Trades on the exchange are VAT-free and gains are free of capital-gains tax, but 10% VAT is charged if you withdraw the gold as physical bars.

The KRX price is the local benchmark, and it can run far above the world price when local demand is strong. On 14 February 2025 it stood 16.75% above the international price (the so-called "kimchi premium"), and the exchange issued an investor alert once the gap passed 6%.

VAT on gold

Korea's standard VAT rate is 10%, the rate charged when KRX gold is taken out as bars. Gold bought from banks and shops adds the shop's margin and, on jewellery, a workmanship charge; the price on this page includes none of these.

What moves the won gold price

The won floats, and the local price is the dollar price times USD/KRW, plus any local premium. The February 2025 shortage showed that the premium can matter as much as gold or the currency. See what moves gold prices.

Rules for gold traders in South Korea

Korea limits leverage on forex margin trading: in 2009 the Financial Services Commission raised the minimum margin from 2% to 5%, to cut leverage from 50 to 20 times, and press reports say it was tightened again later. Press reports also say CFDs are limited to professional investors. Check a firm's registration with the Financial Services Commission before you trade.

Our country guides explain how to check a firm before you open an account.

Trading hours in Korea Standard Time

The international gold market trades almost around the clock, from Monday morning in Asia to Friday evening in New York. The busiest window, the London–New York overlap, falls today at about 22:00–02:00 KST. That is when US data such as payrolls and inflation is released and the price usually moves most. Korea is on KST (UTC+9) all year, so the overlap falls late at night. The gold market hours tool shows every session in your own time zone.

How this KRW gold price is calculated

Three numbers decide everything on this page. First, the international gold price in US dollars per troy ounce: $4,072.1 at the last update. Second, the exchange rate: 1 USD = 1,356.68 KRW. Third, the weight: one troy ounce is 31.1035 grams, and one tola is 11.6638 grams.

1. Price per gram in USD = $4,072.1 ÷ 31.1035 = $130.92.
2. Price per gram in KRW = $130.92 × 1,356.68 = 177,617 KRW (24k, pure gold).
3. Price per don = 177,617 × 3.75 = 666,065 KRW.
4. For a lower purity, multiply by the fineness: 18k = 0.75, 14k = 0.585.

The gold price is the spot price of gold (XAUUSD) from a public real-time feed, refreshed every few seconds while the page is open; the 7-day table and the 30-session chart use COMEX gold futures closes, which usually sit a few dollars above spot. The exchange rate is a mid-market rate; the rate your bank or money changer gives you will be slightly different. If you want to do the maths yourself, our guide to converting the gold price per gram, tola and kilo walks through every step with worked examples.

What this price does not include

The figures above are the international spot price converted into local currency. They are the starting point for every retail price in South Korea, but they are not the price you will pay or receive at a shop. The shop price adds some or all of these on top:

• Import duty or customs charges, where gold or jewellery is imported.
• Sales tax or VAT, where the country charges one. Many countries tax jewellery but not investment bars; the sections above say what applies here.
• Dealer premium: the margin a bullion dealer or bank adds to the spot price for bars and coins, usually larger on small pieces.
• Making charges (labour) on jewellery, often a percentage of the gold value or a fixed amount per gram.
• Local supply and demand, which can push the physical price to a premium or a discount against the international price for weeks at a time.

When you sell, the buyer usually quotes below the spot-based number and deducts for purity testing, wear and sometimes stones. The gap between the buying and the selling price is the real cost of owning physical gold, and it varies a lot between shops, so it is worth asking several.

Frequently asked questions