South Korea's Domestic Market Return Account (RIA), a government-backed program meant to draw overseas stock investors back into local equities, recorded its first monthly decline in total balances and a net outflow just four months after launch. The Korea Financial Investment Association said account balances stood at ₩2.12 trillion, down ₩526.8 billion from the previous month, with the drop largely driven by valuation losses in domestic stocks rather than outright capital flight. Even so, the inflow trend has weakened sharply: monthly net inflows rose from ₩414 billion in March to ₩924.9 billion in April and ₩1.25 trillion in May, then fell to ₩72.1 billion in June before turning negative in July. New account openings have also slowed, while investors appear to be shifting back toward US equities as South Korean shares underperform. The move comes as RIA tax benefits have been trimmed and the account's one-year reinvestment rule has become harder to tolerate in a volatile market.