00:02You're listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
00:06Foreign investors just pulled roughly $8.8 billion out of Korean stocks in six trading days.
00:12Samsung and SK Hynix absorbed nearly all of that selling.
00:16The U.S. Treasury Secretary changed his explanation for surging bond yields twice in two weeks.
00:23And Seoul is negotiating a Westinghouse stake that could cost Korea $3 billion in fresh cash.
00:29Here's what these numbers mean for your Korea exposure.
00:32It's Friday, September 18th.
00:34Here's why global investors are paying attention to Korea today.
00:38Foreign funds had bought heavily into Korean equities from September 3rd to 8th,
00:42then reversed into a six-day, nearly $12 trillion one-selling streak as the Federal Reserve's policy meeting approached.
00:49The reversal came as the one strengthened sharply from the 1,550 range in early July
00:56to the low 1,300s, encouraging investors sitting on semiconductor gains to lock in both stock and currency profits.
01:04At the same time, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant shifted his public explanation for a 10-year yield near 5.04%,
01:12the highest since 2007, from citing economic growth to citing global pressures and America's fiscal deficit.
01:20Here's what the numbers show.
01:21Foreign investors sold $11.95 trillion one, about $8.8 billion,
01:28of Korean stocks over six sessions through September 16th,
01:31with 93.5% of that selling concentrated in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
01:37Samsung alone absorbed $6.29 trillion one of that selling, or about $4.6 billion,
01:44while SK Hynix absorbed $4.88 trillion one, roughly $3.6 billion,
01:51as both companies' buyback programs gave exiting investors a ready buyer.
01:55The same foreign investors rotated $7.42 trillion one, about $5.5 billion,
02:02into banks and industrials, including SK Innovation, GS, and Worry Financial.
02:07A shift toward defensive, rate-sensitive sectors ahead of the Fed decision.
02:11The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield topped 5.04% on September 15th,
02:17the highest level since 2007, while the 30-year yield has held near 5.3% this month.
02:24Tech companies issued $61.1 billion in corporate bonds through August,
02:29up from $16 billion in all of 2024,
02:32pulling demand away from long-dated Treasury issuance,
02:35which fell 26% year-on-year to $229.6 billion over the same period.
02:42Separately, Seoul and Washington are negotiating a Westinghouse stake
02:46near $30 billion in company value,
02:48where a 10% share, Korea's minimum threshold for board representation,
02:53would require about $4.1 trillion one,
02:55or roughly $3 billion in fresh cash from KEPCO, or KHNP.
03:01So what does this mean for global investors weighing Korea exposure?
03:05Earlier, we said foreign investors pulled $8.8 billion from Korean stocks in six days.
03:11Here's what that actually means for you.
03:13That selling was concentrated in two stocks and offset by buybacks,
03:17not a broad retreat from Korea.
03:19The real rotation was into rate-sensitive banks
03:22and industrials ahead of the Fed decision.
03:25Watch whether the FOMC outcome stabilizes the 10-year yield near 5%,
03:30since that will decide whether foreign flows return to Korean tech
03:34before October earnings season.
03:36That's today's AI Prism, Global Investors.
03:39This episode was produced with AI assistance
03:42based on Seoul Economic Daily reporting
03:44and reviewed by a human editor.
03:46AI Prism is a Wanafra award-winning series.
03:49We'll be back tomorrow.
03:50You've been listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
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