South Korean Individual Investors Net Buy Nearly 70 Trillion Korean Won in ETFs Year-to-Date, Continuously Adding Positions Amid Market Pullback

TechFlow News, July 26. According to South Korean media YNA, based on data from Korea Exchange (KRX) and financial information agency Yonhap Infomax, as of July 24, South Korean individual investors have cumulatively net bought ETFs worth 69.5 trillion won this year, accounting for 63.2% of the 109.9 trillion won net buy amount in the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) market during the same period. Although the South Korean stock market has recently entered an adjustment phase, individual investors continue to allocate to the market through ETFs rather than directly buying individual stocks.

Data shows that during the KOSPI adjustment period, individual investors cumulatively net sold stocks worth about 7.6 trillion won, but still net bought ETFs worth about 180 billion won during the same period. In terms of capital flow, about 2 trillion won flowed into Covered Call and monthly dividend ETFs in the past month, while growth-themed ETFs such as semiconductors, space technology, and AI saw capital outflows, reflecting declining investor risk appetite and a preference for allocating to income ETFs that provide stable cash flows.