Foreign holdings of Korean stocks nearly double in 2025

SEOUL, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 18th Feb, 2026) 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 the data from the Financial Securities Service (FSS).

The figure marks a 96.9 percent increase from the 673.7 trillion won recorded at the end of 2024, Yonhap news Agency reported.

Such an increase, however, comes largely from a sharp rise in the value of local shares, with the country's total market capitalisation surging over 77 percent to 3,478 trillion won from 1,963 trillion won over the one-year period.

Offshore investors net sold 9.2 trillion won of local shares last year, according to the data.