In brief
Foreign investors stripped 19.11 trillion won from South Korean equities in September, with the move concentrated on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets, and also pulled 7.57 trillion won from domestic bonds. While one report from Xinhua details the sell‑off, a separate source indicates foreigners bought a modest 35.3 billion won, showing divergent views on net flows.
October 30 marked the latest flash report from Xinhua that foreign investors dumped 19.11 trillion won of South Korean listed shares in September, signaling a second straight month of net outflows from the local equity market.
According to Xinhua’s financial‑watchdog data, offshore buyers saw the KOSPI take a 17.45 trillion won hit, while the tech‑heavy KOSDAQ fell 1.66 trillion won. The total foreign holdings in Korean stocks ended September at 2,296.0 trillion won, representing 34.8 % of the market’s capitalization.
In a related trend, Xinhua also noted that foreign capital withdrew from domestic bonds for the second consecutive month. Offshore investors sold a net 7.57 trillion won of listed bonds, leaving the foreign ownership of these instruments at 322.9 trillion won or 11.2 % of the full bond market.
Contrastly, a separate report derived from Aju Press suggests a different picture for equity flows: foreign investors were reported to have bought a net 35.3 billion won of Korean shares, while institutions were net sellers of 457.9 billion won.
Both accounts reference the same period, yet they present opposing net positions for foreign investors in the South Korean equity market.
