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Foreign Investors Pull Record $35.7 Trillion Won from South Korean Stocks in March

Foreign investors sold a record 7 trillion won 3 billion) of South Korean stocks in March amid Middle East tensions, with retail buyers absorbing the sell-off. Central bank data later showed net selling of 78 billion for the month, marking a third straight month of foreign exits.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Mar 31 – Apr 9, 2026 Published Aug 13

Overview

Foreign investors sold a record amount of South Korean stocks in March, fanning risk-averse sentiment and putting downward pressure on the local currency. The figures, released by two separate sources, highlight the impact of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East on Asia's fourth-largest economy.

According to data from the Korea Exchange, released March 31, offshore investors net sold 7 trillion won 3 billion) worth of equities during the month. This was the highest monthly total on record. In contrast, local retail investors bought 8 trillion won worth of shares over the same period, providing some cushion to the benchmark KOSPI index, which closed 26 percent lower on Tuesday.

The sell-off has also weighed on South Korea's currency. The Korean won dropped to a 17-year low against the US dollar, trading at 1 won per dollar on March 31, a decline of 4 won from the previous session.

A second set of data, published April 9 by the Bank of Korea, put the March net selling at 78 billion (a figure that corresponds to the same period but is recorded in dollar terms). The central bank data also indicated that foreign investors net sold 5 billion in February and 33 billion in the first three months of the year. In addition, offshore investors turned net sellers in the bond market, net exiting 77 billion in March, ending a four-month buying streak.

Coverage of the sell-off was consistent across two Yonhap reports, both of which attributed the decline to geopolitical risks in the Middle East. The Korean exchange report emphasized ongoing conflict as a factor, while the central bank's data release noted that foreigners had been in "profit-taking mode" and that "risk-off sentiment caused by the growing geopolitical risks further fueled selling," according to a Bank of Korea official.

The divergence in total volumes — 7 trillion won versus 8 billion — reflects different reporting times and conversion rates, but both figures represent the same historic monthly record, according to analysts.

Key Claims

Foreign investors net sold 7 trillion won of South Korean stocks in March, a record monthly high, according to the Korea Exchange.
The Bank of Korea separately reported that foreign investors net sold 8 billion in March, also a record, and a third month of net sales.
Retail investors purchased 8 trillion won of shares in March, partially absorbing the foreign selling.
The Korean won fell to a 17-year low against the US dollar during the period.
Foreign investors also sold net 77 billion of Korean bonds in March, marking a halt their four-month net buying.
The combined selling of equities debts totaled 55 billion in March, also a record.

How this outlet told it

A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.

Yonhap News — English — Risk-averse sentiment due to Middle East conflict

Yonhap News — English · 2 articles

as of Mar 31, 2026, 8:00 AM UTC

Framing: Our reading Risk-averse sentiment due to Middle East conflict

Facts Included:

Net selling of South Korean stocks among foreign investors hit a fresh monthly high in March
Foreign investors net sold 35.7 trillion won worth of equities in March
Local retail investors net purchased 32.8 trillion won worth of shares in March
The Korean won dropped to a 17-year low against the US dollar

Read the source article →

as of Apr 9, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC

Framing: Our reading Escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East

Facts Included:

Foreign sell-offs of South Korean stocks hit a record high in March
Foreigners sold a net US$29.78 billion worth of local stocks in March
Foreigners sold a net $43.33 billion worth of Korean stocks in the first three months of the year
Foreign investors net sold $6.77 billion worth of bonds in March
Quote from a BOK official

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimNet selling of South Korean stocks among foreign investors hit a fresh monthly high in March.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Yonhap News — English as of Mar 31, 2026, 8:00 AM UTC
ClaimForeign investors net sold 35.7 trillion won worth of equities in March.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Yonhap News — English as of Mar 31, 2026, 8:00 AM UTC
ClaimForeigners sold a net US$29.78 billion worth of local stocks in March.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Yonhap News — English as of Apr 9, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC
ClaimLocal retail investors net purchased 32.8 trillion won worth of shares in March.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Yonhap News — English as of Mar 31, 2026, 8:00 AM UTC
ClaimThe Korean won dropped to a 17-year low against the US dollar.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Yonhap News — English as of Mar 31, 2026, 8:00 AM UTC
ClaimForeigners sold a net $43.33 billion worth of Korean stocks in the first three months of the year.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Yonhap News — English as of Apr 9, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC
ClaimForeign investors net sold $6.77 billion worth of bonds in March.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Yonhap News — English as of Apr 9, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC
ClaimForeigners have been maintaining their profit-taking mode, and the risk-off sentiment caused by the growing geopolitical risks further fueled selling.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Yonhap News — English as of Apr 9, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: Yonhap News — English 8 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-13