South Koreans were reportedly the world’s biggest spenders on luxury goods last year. 

According to CNBC on Thursday, global investment bank Morgan Stanley said that South Koreans spent 16-point-eight billion dollars in 2022 on personal luxury items, up 24 percent from a year earlier. 

The investment bank said that the figure translates into about 325 dollars per person, much larger than the comparable figures of 55 dollars and 280 dollars by Chinese and American nationals, respectively.

Luxury brand Moncler reportedly said that its revenue in South Korea more than doubled in the second quarter last year compared with before the pandemic. 

Morgan Stanley analysts explained the high demand for luxury goods among South Korean buyers is driven both by an increase in purchasing power as well as a desire to display social standing.

The investment bank reportedly said that nearly all of the major Korean celebrities are brand ambassadors of the leading luxury houses.