Business · Markets · 2 hrs ago
UK-linked funds sold 97 trillion won of South Korean shares through September
UK-linked funds sold 97 trillion won of South Korean shares from January to September, according to an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities.
They sold 76 trillion won in June through September, with most of that selling coming after details of a UK tax change were published in May.
The UK plans to tax unused pension funds inherited after a person dies starting next April; previously, those funds were not taxed.
The change may give pension savers more reason to withdraw money for living costs instead of leaving it as an inheritance.
The analyst said the tax change may have contributed to UK-linked selling from June, but it is not possible to measure how much money it explains.
US-linked funds, by contrast, have been net buyers of South Korean shares since July, although they had sold 65 trillion won over the year as a whole.
Whether UK-linked selling will stop is uncertain, though the analyst said the funds’ holdings have fallen and their monthly sales have eased.
UK-linked funds net sold 97 trillion won of South Korean shares in the first nine months of 2026, according to a report cited by Maeil Business.
They net sold 76 trillion won from June through September.
A Korea Investment & Securities researcher said expanded UK inheritance-tax rules may have contributed to the selling.
From next April, unused pension funds are due to become subject to tax when a pension holder dies.
The report said it is difficult to determine how much of the UK-linked selling was directly caused by the rule change.
- Who
- UK-linked funds.
- What
- They net sold 97 trillion won of South Korean shares from January through September 2026.
- When
- January through September 2026, with 76 trillion won sold from June through September.
- Where
- The South Korean stock market.
- Why
- A researcher said expanded UK inheritance-tax rules may have encouraged pension holders to withdraw funds rather than leave them for inheritance.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The UK legislation was finalized, according to Yeom Dong-chan.
Details of the legislation were made public.
UK-linked funds net sold 76 trillion won of South Korean shares.
UK-linked funds net sold 97 trillion won of South Korean shares.
- UK-linked net sales
- 97 trillion won, January–September 2026
- Sales from June to September
- 76 trillion won
- UK-linked sales analysis
- Korea Investment & Securities researcher Yeom Dong-chan
- Unused pension taxation
- Due to begin next April
- US-linked funds
- Net sold 65 trillion won of South Korean shares this year; began net buying in July
What people are saying
This year, the notable feature of foreign selling is net selling by UK-linked funds.
It is difficult to distinguish the share of UK-linked selling in South Korean stocks that came from this outflow, but I interpret it as having affected UK-linked funds’ net selling since June.
The legislation was finalized in March this year, and the detailed procedures were made public in May.