In the first half of this year, dividend payments from foreign securities to domestic retail investors reached $1.01 billion (approximately 1.4054 trillion won), marking a 107% increase compared to the first half of last year ($486 million). This surge is attributed to the strong performance of dividends from U.S. exchange-traded fund (ETF) stocks.
On July 21, the Korea Securities Depository released a report detailing the status of dividend payments from foreign currency securities.
By region, U.S. stocks accounted for $929 million in dividend payments, representing 92.4% of the total amount paid.
The proportion of dividends from the U.S. market has continued to rise, from 76.3% in 2021 to 87.2% in 2023, and 89.3% last year.
The Japanese market paid $52 million in dividends in the first half of this year, accounting for 5.2% and ranking second. Other markets each accounted for less than 1% individually.
The top 10 stocks with the highest dividend payments were all U.S. ETF products. The leading position was held by an ETF based on shares of the cryptocurrency exchange 'Coinbase', which paid out $124.5 million in dividends.
The Korea Securities Depository explained, "None of the general U.S. stocks made it into the top 10 for dividend payments," adding, "The best performance among well-known real estate investment trusts (REITs) was 'Realty Income', which ranked 11th with $17 million in dividends."
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