The Bank of Korea plans to buy about one ton of physical gold, worth approximately 200 billion won, once a relevant trading system is established around Dec. 14. The purchase would be its first since 2013 and follows second-quarter investments in gold ETFs. The plan responds to rising international gold prices, heightened geopolitical risks and the BOK’s relatively small gold allocation compared with major reserve holders. As of the end of the previous month, the central bank held 104.4 tons of gold worth about 20.4 trillion won, representing 1.1% of its foreign reserves, versus a 9% median among the 10 largest reserve-holding economies listed in the report.