Foreign Holdings of Korean Stocks Nearly Double in 2025 Amid Semiconductor Rally

Seoul: The value of Korean stocks held by offshore investors nearly doubled from a year earlier in 2025, amid an unprecedented stock rally led by semiconductors, industry data showed Wednesday. Foreigners held a total of 1,326.8 trillion won (US$918.3 billion) worth of stocks listed in the local market as of end-December. According to Emirates News Agency, the figure marks a 96.9 percent increase from the 673.7 trillion won recorded at the end of 2024, as reported by Yonhap News Agency. This significant rise is largely attributed to the sharp increase in the value of local shares, with the country's total market capitalization surging over 77 percent to 3,478 trillion won from 1,963 trillion won over the one-year period. Despite the impressive growth, offshore investors net sold 9.2 trillion won of local shares last year, according to the data from the Financial Securities Service (FSS). This indicates that while the market saw a substantial influx of foreign capital, there was also a considerable outflow, highlighting the dynamic nature of foreign investments in the Korean stock market.