Foreign investors dumped a record $34 billion worth of South Korean equities in May, extending a five-month selling streak, but a sharp rally in the country’s stock market lifted the value of their remaining holdings enough to push foreign ownership to an all-time high.
Data released on June 26 by the Financial Supervisory Service showed overseas investors were net sellers of $34 billion in listed South Korean shares during May. They sold a net $35.5 billion on the main stock market while purchasing $1.5 billion on the tech-heavy Kosdaq exchange.
Net foreign selling during the first five months of 2026 reached $82.7 billion, more than ten times the total recorded for all of 2025.
Despite the record outflows, the market value of foreign-owned Korean equities climbed by about $530 billion from a month earlier to roughly $2.1 trillion at the end of May. Foreign investors’ share of total market capitalization also rose to a record 35.3%.
The divergence reflects strong gains in the prices of major stocks still held by overseas investors, offsetting the impact of broad-based profit-taking.
By region, investors from North America accounted for the largest net sales at $24.1 billion, followed by Europe with $5.4 billion, the Middle East with $800 million, and Asia with $70 million.
U.S. investors alone sold a net $20.9 billion, accounting for more than half of total foreign selling during the month.
Even so, the value of U.S. investors’ holdings more than doubled from the end of last year to approximately $860 billion, representing 41.7% of all foreign-owned South Korean equities.
Canadian investors were net sellers of $3.1 billion, while investors from Norway and Hong Kong were net buyers, purchasing $1.7 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively.
Foreign investors also extended their buying streak in South Korea’s bond market for a second consecutive month.
They purchased a net $8.5 billion of listed bonds in May after accounting for maturities, led by demand for government debt. European investors provided the largest inflows, followed by investors from Asia, North America and the Middle East.
Foreign holdings of listed South Korean bonds stood at approximately $242 billion at the end of May, equal to 11.7%of the country’s outstanding listed bond market.
