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Foreign investors off-load $6.2 billion on main bourse this year

Published: 22 Feb. 2026, 15:47

Kospi figures are shown on a digital screen in a Woori Bank central Seoul branch on Feb. 20. [YONHAP]

Foreign investors have posted a net sale of around 9 trillion won ($6.2 billion) on the main bourse this year through last week, data showed on Sunday.

Overseas investors have sold a net 9.1 trillion won worth of shares on the main bourse in 2026 as of Friday, compared to a net sale of 4.6 trillion won for all of 2025, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).

In detail, foreigners sold a net 9.5 trillion won worth of shares in Samsung Electronics, with the stock soaring 59 percent this year alone and surpassing the 190,000 won mark for the first time on Thursday.

Analysts said foreigners appeared to have sold Seoul shares to cash in recent gains rather than due to a pessimistic view of the Korean stock market.

“Foreigners were net sellers on the main bourse this year, but it is hard to say they are betting on a downward trend,” Lee Kyoung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said.

“Considering that their selling was centered on chipmakers, it appears to be a short-term rebalancing process aimed at reducing the portion of shares that have gained sharply,” Lee added.

The benchmark Kospi added 131.28 points, or 2.31 percent, on Friday to close at an all-time high of 5,803.53.

Yonhap