Children dressed in hanbok learn how to perform a New Year's bow at a kindergarten in Daegu, Feb. 12, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday that lasted from Monday to Wednesday. Yonhap
Commercial banks are beckoning parents of minors to manage their children’s sebae money — the cash gifts given during the Lunar New Year in return for bowing to their elders — through lucrative savings options, industry officials said Thursday.
The companies promote products with high annual interest rates, ranging from 5 percent to 10 percent, well above the typical 4 percent or less for standard accounts.
“These companies are expected to attract new customers at the right time,” an industry official said, noting that the Lunar New Year holiday just ended Wednesday.
Among mainstream offline lenders, KB Kookmin Bank offers a savings account with a maximum annual interest rate of 10 percent.
Preferential rates are applied based on the number of children 18 and under and also whether the household receives child allowances.
The product was launched again in November 2025, after its initial debut in August of the same year.
It was introduced to help address Korea’s low birthrate and quickly sold out with a limited issuance of 50,000 accounts.
As for internet-only lenders, KakaoBank gives up to 7 percent yearly interest on its product, which attracted more than 500,000 customers within just four months of launching in September 2025.
In particular, the pace of growth accelerated in the past month, with the number of children holding the accounts tripling and total deposits doubling.
Source: Korea Times News
