Despite massive foreign capital outflows, Korean stocks continue to reach record highs, up nearly 90% year-to-date.

Glonghui, May 14 – The Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed up 1.75% at 7,981.41 points, marking another record closing high. The index has surged 89.39% so far this year, continuing to lead the world in gains. In the Korean market, Glonghui’s “Korean Double Stars”—Samsung Electronics (005930) soared over 5% intraday to 299,500 KRW, hitting a new all-time high. It finally closed up 4.23% at 296,000 KRW, another record closing high, with a cumulative gain of 146% this year. Its market capitalization is approaching 2,000 trillion KRW. On the news front, the South Korean government has requested that Samsung and the union resume negotiations on May 16. SK Hynix (000660) closed down 0.3% today.Despite the KOSPI’s continued rise to all-time highs, driven by domestic capital inflows and the artificial intelligence boom, foreign investors are still further reducing their holdings of Korean stocks. Data shows that since May, foreign investors have been net sellers of $11.5 billion worth of Korean stocks, likely marking the third-largest monthly outflow in history, surpassed only by the unprecedented capital withdrawals in February and March of this year.