The South Korea Financial Supervisory Service published its May 2026 data on foreign portfolio investment, showing that foreign investors were net sellers of listed stocks by KRW47.019 trillion and net buyers of listed bonds by KRW8.791 trillion. Stock sales marked a fifth consecutive month of net equity outflows, while bond purchases extended a two-month run of net inflows. Foreign investors' cumulative holdings stood at KRW2,852.3 trillion in listed stocks, equal to 35.3% of total market capitalization, and KRW333.6 trillion in listed bonds, or 11.9% of total listed bonds. Equity outflows were driven mainly by investors from the Americas, which recorded net stock sales of KRW33.185 trillion, including KRW28.861 trillion from the United States and KRW4.271 trillion from Canada. Net equity buying was led by Norway at KRW2.293 trillion and Hong Kong at KRW2.013 trillion. In bonds, net purchases were concentrated in Korean Treasury Bonds at KRW9.889 trillion, while agency bonds and Monetary Stabilization Bonds saw net selling. By region, Europe accounted for the largest bond inflows at KRW5.694 trillion, followed by Asia at KRW1.980 trillion, and purchases were focused on maturities of one to five years and more than five years, while bonds with less than one year remaining maturity recorded net selling.
South Korea Financial Supervisory Service2026-06-26
South Korea Financial Supervisory Service reports KRW47 trillion foreign stock outflows and KRW8.8 trillion bond inflows in May 2026
The South Korea Financial Supervisory Service said foreign investors sold a net KRW47.019 trillion of listed stocks and bought a net KRW8.791 trillion of listed bonds in May 2026. That extended foreign net stock selling to five straight months and bond buying to two months, with holdings at KRW2,852.3 trillion in stocks and KRW333.6 trillion in bonds. Bond inflows were concentrated in Korean Treasury Bonds, while equity outflows were led by investors from the United States and Canada.