Foreign Investors Offload Over KRW 10 Trillion in Samsung and SK Hynix Shares Last Week

Data released on Monday by the Korea Exchange revealed that foreign investors sold shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix worth more than KRW 10 trillion (approximately $6.6 billion) last week, marking the 12th consecutive trading day of net selling in South Korean stocks.

The figures show that for the week ending May 18, foreign investors were net sellers of SK Hynix shares to the tune of KRW 5.33 trillion and net sellers of Samsung Electronics shares amounting to KRW 5.26 trillion.

The combined net selling of these two market bellwethers accounted for 73% of the total net selling of South Korean stocks by foreign investors during the same period, which stood at KRW 14.45 trillion.

The selling trend has persisted for 12 trading days since foreign investors turned net sellers on May 7.

Over these 12 sessions, foreign investors net sold KRW 19.53 trillion worth of SK Hynix shares and KRW 18.87 trillion worth of Samsung Electronics shares. This constituted 82.9% of the total net selling of South Korean shares, which amounted to KRW 46.34 trillion.

Last week, Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Motor, LG Electronics, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics were also among the stocks most heavily sold by foreign investors.

In contrast, foreign investors increased their purchases in sectors such as robotics and energy storage systems (ESS).

On the benchmark KOSPI, foreign investors were net buyers last week, acquiring shares worth KRW 370 billion in Doosan Robotics Inc. and KRW 148.9 billion in Samsung SDI Co.

On the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market, foreign investors were net buyers of shares worth KRW 1.29 trillion last week. This included purchases of KRW 155.6 billion in Fadu Inc., a fabless company specializing in AI data center storage systems, and KRW 128 billion in Seojin System Co., a manufacturer of energy storage systems and telecommunications equipment.

This shift in capital allocation coincides with strong growth expectations for the global robotics and ESS markets, primarily driven by rising demand for physical AI and AI data centers.

Analysts suggest the recent wave of selling by overseas investors appears to reflect portfolio rebalancing following significant gains in semiconductor stocks, with funds flowing into sectors perceived to have greater upside potential.