U.S. Leads Foreign Investors in Driving the 'KOSPI 4000 Era'... Recently, British Capital Expands

Foreign investors have played a significant role in ushering in the era of the KOSPI 4000. Since June, when the so-called KOSPI "bull market" began in earnest, investors from the United States and Ireland have been identified as the main drivers of this upward trend. More recently, British capital has also been expanding its presence.

On the 27th, when the KOSPI, South Korea's representative stock index, surpassed the 4000 mark for the first time in history, the KOSPI index was displayed on the electronic board in the dealing room of Hana Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. 2025.10.27 Photo by Kang Jinhyung

According to data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service on October 28, U.S. investors recorded the largest net purchases of domestic listed stocks between early June and the end of September, with a total net purchase of 8.228 trillion won.

Irish investors, who ranked second in net foreign purchases, recorded a net selling dominance of 4.209 trillion won. While the average monthly net purchases by Irish investors stood at 140 billion won from January to May, this figure expanded to over 1 trillion won per month from June to September.

During the same period, investors from Luxembourg (1.675 trillion won) and Germany (1.06 trillion won) also posted net purchases in the trillion-won range. British investors, who are typically characterized by short-term investment strategies, realized profits by net selling 11.891 trillion won from January to August, but switched to net buyers in September, recording a net purchase of 2.191 trillion won in that month alone.

In October, as of the 27th, foreign investors continued their net buying, purchasing 5.8898 trillion won worth of stocks on the KOSPI market. During the same period, institutions recorded a net purchase of 2.7071 trillion won, while individual investors net sold 8.8564 trillion won.

Notably, recent trends show that while the intensity of net purchases by U.S. investors-who have been leading the KOSPI rally-has weakened, there has been an increase in inflows of British capital. According to data from the Korea Exchange on net purchases by nationality, from October 1 to 24, British investors were the top net buyers of Korean listed stocks, with a net purchase of 3.096 trillion won. They were followed by Norway (585 billion won), Ireland (329 billion won), Germany (25 billion won), the United States (158 billion won), France (144 billion won), the British Virgin Islands (141 billion won), the Cayman Islands (117 billion won), and Taiwan (111 billion won).

Meanwhile, the KOSPI closed at 4,042.83 on the previous day, up 101.24 points (2.57%) from the previous session, surpassing the 4,000 mark for the first time in history. At the end of May, it stood at 2,697.67.