The Republic of Korea (South Korea) saw in 2023 a remarkable growth in its overseas financial assets, largely driven by a surge in investment in U.S. stocks, according to a report by Yonhap News Agency citing data from the central bank.
The nation’s external financial assets reached $1.911 trillion at the end of December last year, an increase of $124.4 billion from the previous year, based on preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The BOK attributed this year-over-year increase primarily to heightened investment in the United States and European Union countries, amid stock market rallies in those regions. Financial assets in the U.S. jumped $113.8 billion to a record high of $804.6 billion, accounting for 42.1 percent of the total, also the highest on record, as retail investors flocked to U.S. equities.
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Additionally, Korean entities’ financial assets in the EU climbed $10.3 billion to $252.8 billion, while their financial assets in China decreased $9.1 billion to $145.2 billion.
Noteworthy that the tally excludes Korea’s foreign reserves, which stood at $420 billion as of the end of December, according to the BOK. Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights, and gold bullion.
Furthermore, the data showed that the nation’s external financial liabilities increased $111.6 billion to $1.521 trillion as of the end of December.
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