TL;DR — If you hold EWY. KOSPI slipped just 0.27% on Tuesday while foreign investors net sold ₩2.9 trillion. About 74% of that selling was in two stocks, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, which together are 46.16% of EWY. Both barely moved.
Basis: Korean prices are KRX regular-session closes at 15:30 Seoul time on Tuesday, September 29, 2026 (figures that include Nextrade trading are not used). Investor flows are exchange tallies as reported in the Korean press. Dollar conversions use the 15:30 Seoul rate of ₩1,356.7 per $1 and are our own arithmetic.
1. The short answer
On September 29, the second trading day after the Chuseok holiday, KOSPI closed at 6,870.81, down 0.27% (−18.93 points). That is a second straight decline, but a tenth of Monday’s −2.70%.
Under that quiet number, foreign investors net sold ₩2.903 trillion of KOSPI stocks, about $2.1 billion. Add Monday’s roughly ₩3.24 trillion and the two-day total is more than ₩6 trillion. The index held up better than the flows suggest: individuals were net buyers of about ₩1.14 trillion, and after opening 0.66% lower, KOSPI recovered 0.39% from its open by the close.
The selling had two main players. Foreigners net sold ₩1.556 trillion of SK Hynix and ₩602 billion of Samsung Electronics. Those two stocks alone account for 74% of the day’s foreign net selling (preliminary 3:30 p.m. tallies). Yet Samsung closed up 0.93% and SK Hynix down just 0.17%. Whatever was sold, someone bought.
What this means if you hold EWY. First, EWY’s next US price will be the first to reflect Tuesday’s Seoul session. Its last close was $183.58 on Monday, September 28 (US trading day), down 1.92% from $187.18 on Friday. The Tuesday US session had not opened when this was written, and we do not pair Seoul’s Tuesday with New York’s Monday. Second, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together are 46.16% of EWY (iShares, as of September 25, 2026). The two stocks foreigners sold hardest in Seoul are the same two that make up nearly half of your fund.
2. The numbers
| Measure | Sept 28 close | Sept 29 close | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOSPI | 6,889.74 | 6,870.81 | −0.27% |
| KOSDAQ | 846.58 | 849.80 | +0.38% |
| Samsung Electronics (005930) | ₩270,000 | ₩272,500 | +0.93% |
| SK Hynix (000660) | ₩1,768,000 | ₩1,765,000 | −0.17% |
| Shinhan Financial (055550) | ₩111,300 | ₩110,500 | −0.72% |
| KB Financial (105560) | ₩174,200 | ₩173,500 | −0.40% |
| USD/KRW (15:30 Seoul) | 1,365.1 | 1,356.7 | won stronger by 8.4 |
Samsung, which fell hard on Monday, bounced. The banks, which rose on Monday, slipped. Prices are vendor data (Yahoo Finance) for KRX regular-session closes; KOSPI, KOSDAQ, Samsung and SK Hynix matched three Korean outlets.
3. Opened lower, closed higher than the open
Every row below opened below Monday’s close, then gained back ground during the session. These are open-based figures, not closing records.
| Measure | Gap (open vs. prior close) | Session (close vs. open) | Day (close vs. prior close) |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOSPI | −0.66% | +0.39% | −0.27% |
| KOSDAQ | −0.32% | +0.70% | +0.38% |
| Samsung Electronics | −1.48% | +2.44% | +0.93% |
| SK Hynix | −0.74% | +0.57% | −0.17% |
| Shinhan Financial | −1.17% | +0.45% | −0.72% |
The session recovery fully covered the gap in two rows (KOSDAQ and Samsung) and fell short in the other three. (The columns are not meant to add up; how the two parts combine is covered in Seoul’s Fed-day trading.)
One Korean outlet, Seoul Economic Daily, reported that Tuesday was an ex-dividend date for Samsung Electronics. We did not confirm the dividend amount, so we do not say whether Samsung’s +0.93% came “despite” the ex-dividend adjustment.
4. Who sold? The index-level tally
The Korea Exchange publishes net buying and selling by investor type every trading day, and Korean media turn it into same-day headlines. Tuesday’s figures for the KOSPI market:
| Investor | Sept 29 net buy (+) / net sell (−) |
|---|---|
| Foreign | −₩2.903 trillion (three outlets agree) |
| Individual | +₩1.14 trillion (outlets differ slightly: ₩1.1432 trillion / ₩1.145 trillion) |
| Institutional | not shown — outlets gave different figures, and we could not confirm one |
Foreign net selling has run near ₩3 trillion for two straight sessions: about ₩3.24 trillion on Monday (≈$2.37 billion at Monday’s ₩1,365.1) and ₩2.90 trillion on Tuesday (≈$2.14 billion). The two-day total is about ₩6.1 trillion, or roughly $4.5 billion. Those dollar figures are our arithmetic at each day’s 15:30 rate, not press figures.
The index alone does not show the weight of that selling. KOSPI’s −0.27% came on a day with ₩2.9 trillion of foreign selling, individual buying and an intraday recovery. Why the selling happened, we did not confirm. Where it landed, we can see.
5. The main players: two stocks took 74% of the selling
The headline reads “foreigners sold ₩2.9 trillion of Korea.” Broken out by stock, the picture narrows sharply.
| Samsung Electronics (005930) | SK Hynix (000660) | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | +0.93% (₩272,500) | −0.17% (₩1,765,000) |
| Intraday range | ₩266,000 – ₩276,000 | ₩1,736,000 – ₩1,788,000 |
| Trading value | ₩4.06 trillion | ₩5.00 trillion |
| Foreign net | −₩602 billion (2.22 million shares) | −₩1.556 trillion (884,000 shares) |
| Institutional net | +₩19.2 billion (70,000 shares) | +₩80.3 billion (45,000 shares) |
| Share of total foreign selling | 20.7% | 53.6% |
Stock-level flows are preliminary 3:30 p.m. exchange tallies carried in a Korean press table (single source); final figures after the close can differ slightly. Shares of the total are our arithmetic against ₩2.903 trillion. Intraday ranges and trading value are as reported by Seoul Shinmun.
Three ways to read it:
- More than half of Tuesday’s foreign selling was one stock, SK Hynix. With Samsung, the two chip stocks come to 74%. Foreign net selling across all other KOSPI stocks combined was about ₩744 billion.
- The prices barely moved. ₩1.56 trillion of SK Hynix left foreign hands, and the stock closed down 0.17%. Institutions bought only ₩80.3 billion of it, so by arithmetic about ₩1.48 trillion was absorbed by buyers other than foreigners and institutions, meaning individuals and other corporations. We did not obtain stock-level figures for individuals; that figure follows from the identity that net flows across all investor types sum to zero.
- Samsung is the sharper case. Foreigners sold ₩602 billion, and the stock still closed up 0.93%, after opening 1.48% lower and finishing 2.44% above its open.
So the story of the day is not “foreigners sold Korea.” It is foreigners sold Korea’s two chip giants, and domestic buyers took the other side. Why the selling concentrated there, whether profit-taking, a chip-weight adjustment or something else, we did not confirm.
6. Two days together, against the last pre-holiday close
| Measure | Sept 23 close | Sept 29 close | Two sessions |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOSPI | 7,080.92 | 6,870.81 | −2.97% |
| Samsung Electronics | ₩285,500 | ₩272,500 | −4.55% |
| SK Hynix | ₩1,862,000 | ₩1,765,000 | −5.21% |
| Shinhan Financial | ₩109,300 | ₩110,500 | +1.10% |
| KB Financial | ₩173,200 | ₩173,500 | +0.17% |
Across the two reopening sessions, the index lost about 3%, the two chip stocks fell 4% to 5%, and the banks held their ground. The pattern from Monday’s piece, chips down and banks up, still holds over two days, even though Tuesday alone flipped it slightly.
7. The backdrop the press cited
These are items Tuesday’s Korean market wraps mentioned. We did not confirm any of them as causes.
- US 10-year Treasury yields around 5.2% (outlets cited slightly different figures, such as 5.24% and 5.27%)
- Oil above $93 a barrel, with mentions of stalled US–Iran talks and the Strait of Hormuz (as reported)
- A Fed official’s remarks suggesting further rate increases (as reported; the original remarks were not checked)
- The reported Samsung ex-dividend date
8. What to watch this week
- Micron earnings, Wednesday, September 30, 4:30 p.m. Eastern, per the company’s investor-relations release. That is 5:30 a.m. Thursday, October 1, in Seoul, so Thursday is Seoul’s first session to react. Micron is in the same memory business as Samsung and SK Hynix, but we do not predict which way its results would move the two Korean stocks.
- US inflation (August PCE) and jobs data. Korean outlets said these are due this week; we did not confirm exact release dates.
- The calendar. Thursday, October 1 is a normal trading day. Korea is closed on Monday, October 5 (substitute holiday for National Foundation Day) and Friday, October 9 (Hangul Day).
9. What this tells you about the Korean market
Reduced to one line: in Korea, “how much did the index move?” and “who sold how much, and of what?” are different questions, and both get answered the same day. On Monday the −2.70% index move was the headline. On Tuesday the −0.27% move was a small headline, while foreign selling underneath was about the same size as Monday’s and concentrated in two names. Reading this market means putting the two side by side.
10. How can a US investor get this exposure?
- EWY (iShares MSCI South Korea ETF, NYSE Arca): a US-listed ETF that holds a basket of Korean stocks, so it trades in an ordinary US account. Samsung and SK Hynix are 46.16% of it; see EWY’s concentration.
- SKHY (SK Hynix’s American depositary receipt, a US-listed share, on Nasdaq): the single-stock route. Steps are in How to Buy SK Hynix Stock From the US.
- KRX directly: requires a broker with access to the Korea Exchange.
Not a perfect parallel. US markets have days when the index barely moves while large money shifts underneath, such as big rebalancing days. In Korea, that shift is broken out by investor type and published the same day, which is why “who sold” becomes a same-day headline. Korea’s “foreign” category also mixes overseas institutions and overseas individuals, so it is not a synonym for “big offshore funds.”
Under the Gat. KOSPI −0.27% looks like an uneventful day. Underneath, foreigners sold ₩2.9 trillion, three-quarters of it in two chip stocks, and domestic buyers took the other side. In Korea, “who sold, who bought” belongs next to “how much it moved.” Whether this selling continues is the real question for the week.
The conclusion
- KOSPI closed Tuesday at 6,870.81, down 0.27%.
- Foreigners net sold ₩2.9 trillion; over two reopening sessions, more than ₩6 trillion.
- 74% of Tuesday’s foreign selling was SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, and both stocks closed within 1% of Monday.
- The next checkpoint is Seoul’s Thursday, October 1 session, the first after Micron reports.
FAQ
Why did KOSPI fall on September 29, 2026?
KOSPI closed at 6,870.81, down 0.27%. Korean press attributed the day to foreign selling of about ₩2.9 trillion, together with rising US Treasury yields and oil prices. We report those as press-reported context, not as confirmed causes.
Did foreign investors sell Korean stocks on Sept 29?
Yes. Three outlets reported net foreign selling of about ₩2.9 trillion on the KOSPI market. Retail investors were net buyers of roughly ₩1.14 trillion.
Which stocks did foreign investors sell most on Sept 29?
SK Hynix (about ₩1.56 trillion) and Samsung Electronics (about ₩602 billion), per preliminary 3:30 p.m. exchange tallies carried in the Korean press. Together that is about 74% of the day’s ₩2.9 trillion foreign net selling on the KOSPI market.
What does this mean for EWY holders?
EWY’s next US price will be the first to reflect Tuesday’s Seoul session. Its top two holdings, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, together made up 46.16% of the fund as of iShares data dated September 25, 2026 (carried over from our prior piece, not re-pulled on September 29).
When does Micron report earnings?
Micron’s fiscal fourth-quarter results are scheduled for Wednesday, September 30, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, per the company’s investor-relations release. Seoul’s first chance to react is Thursday, October 1.
Sources
KRX closes: Yahoo Finance chart data for ^KS11, ^KQ11, 005930.KS, 000660.KS, 055550.KS, 105560.KS, and EWY, retrieved September 29, 2026 (vendor data) · Market wrap and index-level flows: Businesskorea · Seoul Economic Daily (EN) · Asia Economy · Monday’s flows: Seoul Economic Daily (EN) · Stock-level flows: Newstong exchange tables for foreign and institutional net trading, Sept 29 (3:30 p.m. preliminary) · Intraday range and trading value: Seoul Shinmun · Samsung ex-dividend report: Seoul Economic Daily · Micron date: Micron investor relations · EWY weights: iShares EWY holdings, as of September 25, 2026
Confidence
| Item | Strength |
|---|---|
| KOSPI, KOSDAQ, Samsung, SK Hynix closes, Sept 29 | [measured] — vendor data for KRX regular-session closes, matched by three outlets |
| Shinhan and KB closes | [measured] — vendor data (Yahoo) only, not cross-checked |
| Index-level foreign and individual flows | [reported] — three outlets agree on foreign; individual differs slightly |
| Stock-level foreign and institutional flows | [reported, preliminary] — single press table, 3:30 p.m. basis; share counts check out against closing prices |
| USD/KRW 1,356.7 | [reported] — single outlet, prior-close difference checks out |
| EWY weights (top two 46.16%) | [primary, carried over] — iShares, as of Sept 25, 2026; carried over from our prior piece, not re-pulled Sept 29 |
| Institutional total · stock-level individual flows · causes of the selling | not obtained / not confirmed |
This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Figures are as of September 29, 2026. Do your own research.
Written by Mr.Gat — TheGatBull
Korean market coverage from a Seoul-metro-based operator who reads the filings in the original language. Every price on this site is the KRX regular-session close (15:30 Seoul); every figure states whether it came from a primary filing, the press, or our own calculation. Drafts are AI-assisted, then verified against the original Korean documents and edited by a human before publishing.
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