Foreign investors were net sellers of South Korean stocks for seven consecutive months up to February, driving their Korean stock holdings down 12.2% to 704.12 trillion won (US$483.6 billion).
As a result, the share of foreign investments in the Korean stock market declined to 26.5% from 29.2% last August, a period during which the benchmark stock index slid around 3.8%.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) published the figures in a statement on March 12.
The regulator didn’t provide any analysis. But Korean stocks have been dragged down by a political crisis sparked by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law last year.
The benchmark stock index which had fluctuated in a tight range since August fell after Yoon’s subsequent impeachment and detention triggered a sell-off in December that extended into this January.
Investor sentiment remained weak in February as the US slapped tariffs on imports, sparking a trade war.
Foreign investors sold a net 3.48 trillion won of Korean stocks in the first two months of 2025.
Meanwhile, Korean bonds saw 5.6 trillion won of net inflows from foreign investors last month after a 1.6 trillion won outflow in January.