30% of Koreans Live with Pets… Monthly Average Expenditure Exceeds 190,000 Won

Three out of ten Koreans raise pets, and their average monthly expenditures on pet care exceed 190,000 won.

According to the '2025 Korean Pet Report' released by KB Financial Group's Management Research Institute on the 29th, the number of pet households in the country is expected to reach 5.91 million by the end of 2024, an increase of 1.1% (60,000 households) compared to the end of 2023 (5.85 million households).

Individually, a total of 15.46 million people are raising pets, accounting for 29.9% of the total population.

The proportion of households with pets has slightly risen from 26.6% to 26.7%, an increase of 0.1 percentage points.

These figures were calculated based on the population and housing census conducted by the National Statistical Office and KB Financial's own surveys.

Current Status of Pet Ownership and Increasing Financial Burden

By pet type, households raising dogs number 4.55 million, the largest group, while those with cats account for 1.37 million households.

This reflects an increase of 40,000 households for dogs and 20,000 households for cats compared to the previous year.

Moreover, 80.1% of pet-owning households reported leaving their pets alone at home for a certain period each day, with the average time pets spend alone reaching 5 hours and 54 minutes.

Notably, there has been a sharp increase in pet care expenses.

Pet-owning households are spending an average of 194,000 won monthly, which is an increase of 40,000 won (26%) from 2023 (154,000 won).

Households raising dogs spend an average of 161,000 won a month, while those with cats spend around 142,000 won monthly.

The largest portion of these expenses is attributed to food costs (35.1%), followed by snacks and health supplements (22.5%), daily necessities such as potty pads (10.6%), and grooming costs (8.7%).

Medical Expense Burden and Insurance Enrollment Status

The burden of medical expenses for pets has also significantly increased.

Seventy percent of pet-owning households have reported incurring veterinary treatment costs in the past two years, with the average treatment cost amounting to 1,027,000 won, nearly doubling from 577,000 won in 2023.

However, the enrollment rate for pet insurance remains low at 12.8%.

The most identified issue needing resolution for the popularization of pet insurance is the introduction of a standard fee system for veterinary services (46.1%).

Difficulties faced by pet-owning households (multiple responses allowed) primarily include difficulties while traveling (39.1%), financial burden (34.1%), and managing waste and fur (33.9%).

Despite the challenges, 76% of pet-owning households reported being satisfied with pet ownership, and 74.2% expressed an intention to continue raising pets in the future.

However, the willingness to recommend pet ownership to others was only 49.4%, falling short of half.

For popular pet breeds, Maltese (20.4%) and Poodle (18.9%) topped the list for dogs, while Korean Shorthair (44.7%), Russian Blue (12.8%), and Persian (9.6%) were preferred among cats.

Image Source: News1, illustrative material for understanding the article / gettyimagesbank