Foreign investors have sold more than 90 trillion won ($62 billion) of South Korean stocks so far in 2026, but local retail buyers have matched them nearly dollar for dollar.
Local traders recently witnessed a “Black Friday” where nearly 1.24 trillion won ($801 million) in foreign inflows were recorded from stocks listed on KOSPI alone.
The South Korean “ants” keep KOSPI running
With foreign investors Withdrew more than 90 trillion won ($62 billion) of South Korean stocks so far this year, but the benchmark KOSPI still managed to rise more than 70% year-to-date due to… Local retail buyersnicknamed “ants” because of their collective and coordinated purchasing power.
The name was first used during the 2020-2021 pandemic period, when Korean retail investors made similar coordinated purchases. Now, these ants have managed to offset these massive outflows by pumping an estimated $70 billion back into the market.
On June 5, a day that local traders now call “Black Friday,” the KOSPI fell more than 5% in a single session as a single-day outflow of about 1.24 trillion won ($801 million) was recorded. However, the index stabilized within days with local investors buying the dip.
financial analysis company, Al Qubaisi’s messageIt cited Goldman Sachs data when it reported a total of $75 billion in net foreign inflows into all South Korean stocks for 2026, through June 8, three days after Black Friday.
Why do foreign investors sell if the market is performing well?
South Korean stocksThe country’s stocks, led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, rose so significantly that the country’s weight in global indices such as the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose to nearly 21%.
With South Korea’s large share in the global index, passive funds that copy this index simply have to sell some Korean stocks to keep their investments from holding a larger percentage of Korea than the index itself allows.
Moreover, the Korean won fell to its lowest level in 17 years against the dollar During the sales processThis exacerbated the losses of foreign holders, but the sheer size of the profits made investors choose to cash out their money. SpaceX’s expected IPO has reportedly moved capital back toward the US markets.
Interestingly, Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, reported that foreign ownership of KOSPI shares actually rose to 39.43% of the total market capitalization as of mid-May because the value of the stocks they hold, such as Samsung, has risen dramatically.
The KOSPI surpassed 7,000 in early May for the first time, and now ranks among the world’s strongest major stock indices in 2026.
However, even after the index crossed 7,000 points, foreign investors still disposed of more than 41 trillion won during nine consecutive trading sessions. Net outflows of $10 billion were recorded in early June, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix bearing the brunt of the liquidation. Broadcom suffered a $285 billion market cap wiped out in the same period, magnifying the damage and sending both stocks sharply lower.
A separate MSCI review is scheduled for mid-June to assess whether Korea qualifies for inclusion in the developed markets index.
