Foreign investors ended September holding 2,296 trillion won in South Korean shares after net sales of 19.11 trillion won, reversing August’s buying, The Korea Herald reported, citing Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) data.
The sales came after a seven-month stretch of net selling that lasted through July. Foreign investors became net buyers in August, purchasing 344 billion won more in shares than they sold, before flows turned negative again in September.
The 6.9 trillion won outflow from the United Kingdom was the largest country total; U.S. investors accounted for 3.9 trillion won. At September-end, foreign investors’ shares were valued at 34.8% of the total market capitalization.
In listed debt, foreign investors bought a net 127 billion won during September. Their Korean bond holdings were valued at 322.9 trillion won at month-end, equal to 11.2% of listed bonds.
The figures show different directions across the two markets: net selling in shares and net buying in bonds. The Korea Herald described prolonged geopolitical risks and concerns about artificial intelligence investment profitability as part of the backdrop to the stock sales.
