Foreign investors withdrew a net $4.5 billion from South Korean securities in August, sharply narrowing the outflow from $21.65 billion in July. Equity funds recorded a $35 million net inflow on a settlement-date basis, ending an eight-month withdrawal streak, while bond funds posted a $4.531 billion outflow as rising market rates weakened short-term arbitrage incentives. The won strengthened to 1,368.6 per dollar at the end of August and reached 1,359.4 on Sept. 15, supported by a wider current-account surplus and improved foreign-exchange market conditions. Trading-date data still showed widening equity outflows, underscoring uncertainty over whether foreign portfolio flows have decisively reversed.