Foreign Investors Turn Net Sellers of Korean Stocks Again, Selling KRW 19 Trillion in September

September 2026 Foreign Securities Investment Trends

Foreign investors sold KRW 19 trillion worth of domestic listed stocks last month. Just one month after turning net buyers of domestic listed stocks in August, they returned to being net sellers.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's "September 2026 Foreign Securities Investment Trends," released on October 30, foreign investors were net sellers of KRW 19.116 trillion worth of domestic listed stocks last month. After seven consecutive months of net selling domestic listed stocks, they turned net buyers in August, purchasing KRW 344 billion, but soon returned to being net sellers.

Foreign investors' selling was particularly pronounced on the KOSPI last month. They were net sellers of KRW 17.453 trillion on the KOSPI and KRW 1.663 trillion on the KOSDAQ.

By region, investors in the Middle East were net buyers of KRW 100 billion, while those in Europe, Asia, and the Americas were net sellers of KRW 10.3 trillion, KRW 1.7 trillion, and KRW 4.9 trillion, respectively. By country, Luxembourg and Ireland were net buyers of KRW 1 trillion and KRW 800 billion, respectively, while the United Kingdom and the United States were net sellers of KRW 6.9 trillion and KRW 3.9 trillion, respectively.

As of the end of last month, foreign investors held KRW 2,296 trillion worth of domestic listed stocks, accounting for 34.8% of total market capitalization. Holdings were largest in the United States, at KRW 1,006.9 trillion, followed by Europe at KRW 680.2 trillion, Asia at KRW 313.4 trillion, and the Middle East at KRW 45.7 trillion.

Foreign investors have now recorded net withdrawals from domestic listed bonds for two consecutive months. Last month, they purchased KRW 127 billion worth of domestic listed bonds and received KRW 7.695 trillion in repayments of maturing bonds, resulting in net withdrawals totaling KRW 7.569 trillion.

By bond type, investors recorded net withdrawals of KRW 4.8 trillion from government bonds and KRW 2.7 trillion from special bonds. By remaining maturity, they made net investments of KRW 2.4 trillion in bonds with maturities of five years or more and KRW 1.8 trillion in bonds with maturities of at least one year but less than five years, while recording net withdrawals of KRW 11.8 trillion from bonds with maturities of less than one year.

By region, investors in Asia made net investments of KRW 2.7 trillion in domestic listed bonds, while those in Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas recorded net withdrawals of KRW 6.7 trillion, KRW 1.2 trillion, and KRW 800 billion, respectively.

Holdings were largest in Asia, at KRW 142.5 trillion, followed by Europe at KRW 110.8 trillion. Foreign investors held KRW 310.4 trillion worth of government bonds and KRW 12.4 trillion worth of special bonds. By remaining maturity, they held KRW 51.7 trillion in bonds with maturities of less than one year, KRW 115.7 trillion in bonds with maturities of at least one year but less than five years, and KRW 155.5 trillion in bonds with maturities of five years or more.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.