• Editor Lee Kwang-soo
• 2026.08.13 18:48

An employee sorts dollar bills at the Counterfeit Response Center of Hana Bank’s headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. (Yonhap)

Foreign investors net sold both stocks and bonds in the Korean market in July. According to the International Financial and Foreign Exchange Market Trends released by the Bank of Korea on Aug. 13, foreign investment funds in Korean stocks and bonds saw net outflows of $20.7 billion and $6.77 billion, respectively, in July. month.

Stock investment funds have seen net outflows for seven consecutive months since January. However, the scale of the net outflow decreased compared to the record high of $32.37 billion in June.

The Bank of Korea explained, “Stock funds saw net outflows due to escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and caution over global AI investments, but the scale of the outflow narrowed due to the easing of rebalancing selling pressure following domestic stock price adjustments.”

Foreign bond funds, which saw a net outflow of $6.77 billion in March, had experienced net inflows for three consecutive months since April when Korean government bonds were included in the World Government Bond Index (WGBI), but turned to a net outflow in July.

The Bank of Korea explained, “Foreign bond funds saw a net outflow due to factors such as the widening inversion gap of short-term arbitrage incentives in the Korean market.”