The richest Koreans bestowed W13 trillion on their children last year or a whopping W10.55 billion per person (US$1=W1,123). This accounts for 41.4 percent of all assets that were donated last year.

According to data the National Tax Service submitted to Democratic United Party lawmaker An Min-suk on Thursday, 127,464 people paid gift tax worth a combined W3.82 trillion on a total of W32.51 trillion they were given by their parents.

The top 1 percent, or 1,274 individuals, were given W13.45 trillion by their parents and paid W1.57 trillion in gift taxes. That boils down to an average gift tax of W1.23 billion.