The South Korea Financial Supervisory Service published its January 2026 snapshot of foreign investors’ trading in listed Korean securities, showing a net sale of KRW98.0 billion in listed stocks alongside a net purchase of KRW3.5570 trillion in listed bonds. Foreign investors switched back to net selling in equities while extending bond buying to a third consecutive month. Foreign investors’ cumulative holdings of listed stocks rose to KRW1,701.4 trillion, representing 32.0% of total market capitalization, while bond holdings reached KRW330.5 trillion, or 11.9% of total listed bonds. In equities, net buying by Europe (KRW6.309 trillion) and Asia (KRW1.378 trillion) was offset by net selling from the Americas (KRW8.139 trillion), with the US the largest net seller (KRW7.795 trillion) and Ireland (KRW2.332 trillion), the UK (KRW1.758 trillion) and Luxembourg (KRW1.350 trillion) among the largest net buyers. In bonds, net purchases were led by Asia (KRW2.633 trillion) and focused on Korean Treasury Bonds (KRW6.047 trillion), while agency bonds (KRW2.489 trillion) and Monetary Stabilization Bonds (KRW2.109 trillion) saw net selling; flows by remaining maturity showed net sales in bonds with less than one year remaining (KRW3.415 trillion) and net purchases in the 1–5 year (KRW3.083 trillion) and over five year (KRW3.888 trillion) buckets.
South Korea Financial Supervisory Service 2026-01-13
South Korea Financial Supervisory Service reports January 2026 foreign investors’ net KRW98.0 billion stock sales and KRW3.5570 trillion bond purchases
The South Korea Financial Supervisory Service's January 2026 report shows foreign investors recorded a net sale of KRW98.0 billion in listed stocks and a net purchase of KRW3.5570 trillion in listed bonds, marking a third consecutive month of bond buying. European and Asian investors were net buyers of equities, while the Americas, led by the US, were net sellers; in bonds, Asian investors led net purchases, particularly in Korean Treasury Bonds.