Foreign investors are back to large-scale buying in the Korean stock market, while retail investors are heavily selling. The capital structure of the Korean stock market saw a significant reversal at the end of July. For most of this year, foreign investors have been consistently reducing their holdings in Korean stocks, while Korean retail investors kept increasing their positions, focusing mainly on Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and related leveraged ETFs. The more stock prices dropped, the more retail investors bought, with nearly all the shares sold by foreign investors being picked up by local individual investors, often using leverage. However, on the most recent trading day, foreign investors recorded a net purchase of nearly 6 trillion KRW in Korean stocks, while Korean retail investors had a net sell-off of close to 10 trillion KRW, marking the most extreme exchange of positions this year. This indicates that the Korean retail investors who had been bottom-fishing are now starting to reduce their positions during the rebound. Some of these sales may be from funds that were stuck and are now exiting as they return to their cost basis, some from margin accounts actively reducing leverage, and others possibly from redemptions of leveraged ETFs. After consecutive declines, margin calls, and forced liquidations, the cash that Korean retail investors can continue to inject into the market has significantly decreased, and their risk appetite is also starting to drop. Meanwhile, foreign investors are buying back Korean stocks as retail investors sell off. Following the significant adjustments in the previous period, the valuations, position crowding, and leverage risks of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have all decreased, prompting global funds to reassess the allocation value of Korean semiconductors. Previously, the trading structure was foreign investors retreating while retail investors used leverage to take over. Now, it’s gradually shifting to retail investors deleveraging and foreign investors buying back at lower levels. A single day of capital flow is not enough to confirm that the Korean stock market has fully reversed, but the chips are clearly moving from highly leveraged retail investors back to global institutions. For a market that has already undergone a deep correction, this could very well be a phase of mutual testing between buyers and sellers. @Gate Crypto, US stocks, Hong Kong stocks, Korean stocks, gold, CFDs, prediction markets—all in one place for trading.