Foreign investors net sold 20.31 trillion won ($14.1 billion) in KOSPI shares between Sept. 1 and Oct. 2, according to the Korea Exchange, with SK hynix accounting for 12.09 trillion won of the outflows and Samsung Electronics for 5.19 trillion won. The figures include after-market trading, which began Sept. 15. Foreigners were net buyers in only seven of 22 sessions and sold a net 3 trillion won on Sept. 28, pushing their share of total KOSPI market capitalization down to 39.66%. Foreign ownership of SK hynix fell to 49.76%, its lowest since 49.46% on May 15, 2023, while Samsung Electronics stood at 46.41%. The selling has been attributed to profit-taking after a sharp first-half rally in Korean equities, as well as the prolonged U.S.-Iran war and higher interest rates in major economies. Brokerages say selling could ease if third-quarter results confirm the memory-chip market's resilience and improve earnings visibility. Micron Technology reported better-than-expected results on Sept. 30, while Samsung Electronics is scheduled to release preliminary third-quarter earnings around Oct. 8.