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Foreign ownership in Korean stock market reaches highest level in nearly 6 years: Report

Published: 04 Jan. 2026, 12:53

The screens show the Kospi, left, the foreign exchange rate between dollar and Korean won and the Kosdaq at a dealing room of Hana Bank in central Seoul on Dec. 30, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

Foreign ownership as a share of total market capitalization reached its highest level in five years and eight months in December amid a rally in the Korean equity market, a report showed Sunday.

Foreigners bought a net 3.5 trillion won ($2.4 billion) worth of local shares in December, raising their stockholdings to 32.9 percent of total market capitalization, the highest level since April 2020, according to a report published by the Korea Center for International Finance (KCIF).

Separate data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) showed that foreign ownership stood at 29.6 percent as of November, compared with 31.5 percent in April 2020. The FSS has yet to release its December figures.

The KCIF report said foreign investors purchased a net 4.5 trillion won worth of shares in the electronics sector in December, including 2.2 trillion won in SK hynix and 1.4 trillion won in Samsung Electronics.

As a result, foreign ownership of SK hynix rose to 53.8 percent in December from 53.2 percent a month earlier. Foreign holdings in Samsung Electronics also advanced to 52.3 percent from 52.2 percent over the same period.

In the bond market, foreign investors bought a net 8.8 trillion won worth of bonds last month, the report said.

The KCIF attributed the sharp rise in foreign investment to expectations that robust global demand for memory chips will benefit Korean chipmakers.

The Seoul government's policies aimed at reforming the stock market and improving corporate value also helped attract foreign investors, the report added.

Korea's benchmark stock index closed at 4,214.17 on Dec. 30, the last trading day of 2025, up 75.7 percent compared with the first trading day of the year.

Yonhap