Fleeing Semiconductors! Foreign Investors Sold About 4 Trillion Won in Samsung and SK Hynix Stocks Last Week

South Korea's stock market is showing clear signs of a "foreign investor shift." In recent weeks, foreign investors have taken substantial profits from major semiconductor stocks and redirected capital into other industries, including finance, energy, and automobiles.

According to the latest statistics from the Korea Exchange, between September 4 and 11, foreign investors recorded a net sell-off of 3.2362 trillion won in the KOSPI market. This selling pressure was heavily concentrated in the two semiconductor giants: foreign investors sold 1.9598 trillion won worth of Samsung Electronics shares and 1.96 trillion won worth of SK Hynix shares. The combined sell-off in these two stocks reached 3.9199 trillion won.

This means the total amount sold in just these two stocks exceeded the overall foreign net sell-off in KOSPI by approximately 680 billion won. When Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are excluded, foreign investors actually achieved a net buy of about 683.7 billion won in other KOSPI components, indicating that capital is not exiting the Korean market entirely but undergoing inter-industry reallocation.

Looking at foreign investors’ new targets, value-type sectors such as finance and energy have become favored destinations. This month, the top foreign buy target was Woori Financial Group (475.9 billion won), followed by SK Square (450.6 billion won). Additionally, significant capital inflows were observed in Korean Air (213.4 billion won), SK Innovation (184.9 billion won), and Hyundai Mobis (140.1 billion won).

Regarding this capital rotation, Daishin Securities analyst Lee Kyung-min noted: "With domestic equities facing external uncertainties and semiconductor investment sentiment constrained, the rotation of selling and buying is spreading to industries such as nuclear power, shipbuilding, refining, chemicals, and secondary batteries." He added that despite the significant foreign sell-off in semiconductors, there is a growing trend of diversifying investments into non-semiconductor sectors.

Compared to August, when foreign investors sold off 9.7943 trillion won in KOSPI, this month has already turned into a net buy for non-semiconductor stocks after excluding the two semiconductor leaders, suggesting that foreign investors are increasingly focusing on individual company performance and operational momentum.

As for whether the withdrawal from semiconductors will become a long-term trend, Yuanta Securities analyst Kim Yong-gu believes it remains to be seen. He stated, "The cumulative net buy amount by foreign investors in South Korea's semiconductor industry over the past three months has been highly correlated with fluctuations in the Korean won exchange rate."

Kim added that if U.S. long-term and market interest rates stabilize in the future and dollar liquidity expands, leading to a stabilization of the won-to-dollar exchange rate, it would benefit the overall South Korean stock market and help restore investor positioning in the AI semiconductor value chain.