The previously global-leading Korean stock market fell by more than 5% this week, with foreign capital selling $10 billion in stocks.

The scale of the South Korean stock market has reached 4.7 trillion US dollars this year at an astonishing speed, but now it has begun to show signs of fatigue. The Kospi index closed down 5.5% on Friday, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both falling at least 6%. Foreign investors have sold another 3.5 trillion Korean won worth of Kospi components stocks, totaling over 10 billion US dollars in stock sales this week. The Korean won has fallen to its lowest level since March 2009. There has always been a divergence in views on the Korean market, with bullish stock market players unconcerned about the depreciation of the Korean won, instead focusing on the exponential growth of corporate profits. However, on Friday, various assets including bonds experienced simultaneous drops, highlighting unfavorable macroeconomic conditions: the prolonged tensions with Iran have kept oil prices high and intensified interest rate hike risks. Oh Jaeyoung, an economist at KB Securities, stated that the rise in oil prices has caused the depreciation of the Korean won, exacerbated by foreign capital selling Korean stocks; with the decline in the Kospi, this pressure has been further amplified. In terms of short-term market sentiment, there may still be further room for the Korean won to fall.