Foreign holdings in Korean shares double amid KOSPI rally

Foreign investors nearly doubled their Korean stock holdings to 1,327 trillion won ($916 billion) in 2025, compared to 673 trillion won the previous year, buoyed by a 75 percent surge in the benchmark KOSPI, data showed Sunday. Their share of total market capitalization rose to 30.8 percent, up from 27 percent, led mostly by U.S. investors. Artificial intelligence (AI)-related sectors, especially semiconductors and electronics, drove much of the gains, despite net foreign sales of 9.2 trillion won. Foreign investors were able to realize near 100 percent gains despite overall net selling, as they heavily favored AI-related stocks, which rose more than 120 percent. According to financial market data, the U.S. investors held a total of 546 trillion won worth of Korean stocks, followed by the U.K. (144 trillion won), Singapore (88 trillion won), Luxembourg (70 trillion won) and Ireland (58 trillion won). The Cayman Islands, widely known as a tax haven, accounted for 30.3 trillion won. U.K. and Cayman-based investors favored high-frequency trading, while U.S. investors focused on long-term hol

Related Posts

Latest News from Korea

Latest Entertainment from Korea

Learn People & History of Korea