Foreign investors sell $801 million of KOSPI stocks after $10 billion weekly outflow

Foreign investors have pulled more than 90 trillion won from South Korean equities in 2026, including roughly $75 billion through June 8 across all stocks cited by The Kobeissi Letter from Goldman Sachs data, yet the KOSPI has still climbed more than 70% this year as domestic retail investors, known as the “ants,” bought heavily into the market. A June 5 session dubbed “Black Friday” saw about 1.24 trillion won in KOSPI outflows and a drop of more than 5%, but the benchmark stabilized within days as local investors bought the dip. The foreign selling has come even as South Korean stocks led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix surged, lifting the country’s weight in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index to nearly 21% and prompting passive funds to rebalance. A weaker won, profit-taking and reports that the expected SpaceX IPO is drawing capital back toward U.S. markets have also been cited as factors. Even so, foreign ownership of KOSPI stocks rose to 39.43% of market capitalization by mid-May, according to Mirae Asset Securities researcher Kim Seok-hwan, because holdings that remained on foreign books increased sharply in value.