"Foreign Investors Net Buy 1.5 Trillion Won in Korean Stocks in December...Return to Net Buying After One Month"

Foreign investors made a net purchase of 1.524 trillion won in domestic stocks in December of last year. This marks a return to net buying after one month.

According to the 'December Foreign Securities Investment Trends' report released by the Financial Supervisory Service on January 9, foreign investors made a net purchase of 1.524 trillion won in listed stocks in December 2025, based on settlement data. They bought 1.673 trillion won worth of stocks on the KOSPI, while making a net sale of 149 billion won on the KOSDAQ.

By region, Europe led with 1.6 trillion won, followed by the Americas with 400 billion won and Asia with 300 billion won.

By country, France and the United Kingdom made net purchases of 1 trillion won and 800 billion won, respectively. In contrast, Singapore and the Cayman Islands made net sales of 900 billion won and 600 billion won, respectively.

The United States held the largest amount of domestic stocks at 546 trillion won, accounting for 41.2% of all foreign holdings. This was followed by Europe with 417 trillion won, Asia with 182.4 trillion won, and the Middle East with 22.9 trillion won.

In December of last year, foreign investors made a net purchase of 17.527 trillion won in listed bonds and received 9.46 trillion won in maturities, resulting in a net investment of 7.887 trillion won. This marks the second consecutive month of net investment.

By region, Europe led with 2.5 trillion won, followed by the Americas with 1.7 trillion won and Asia with 1.1 trillion won.

By type, there was a net investment of 3.7 trillion won in government bonds and 1.9 trillion won in monetary stabilization bonds.

By remaining maturity, there was a net investment of 3.7 trillion won in bonds with maturities of five years or more, and 8.1 trillion won in bonds with maturities of one to five years. In contrast, there was a net redemption of 3.8 trillion won in bonds with maturities of less than one year.

As of December 2025, foreign investors held 74.1 trillion won in bonds with less than one year remaining to maturity. They also held 119.7 trillion won in bonds with maturities of one to five years, and 134.7 trillion won in bonds with maturities of five years or more.