Seoul: Foreign investors broke their nine-month trend of selling South Korean stocks in May, amid reduced concerns over U.S. trade policies, as indicated by recent data.

According to Yonhap News Agency, offshore investors purchased a net 2 trillion won (US$1.47 billion) worth of local stocks last month, marking the first net purchase in 10 months. This shift comes after a net sale of 13.59 trillion won in April, which was the largest ever recorded, driven by market turmoil due to the Trump administration's tariff policies.

Following this net buying activity, foreign ownership of local stocks reached 748.75 trillion won, equating to 26.7 percent of the total market capitalization. U.S. investors emerged as the top net buyers, acquiring 1.8 trillion won worth of shares, followed by Irish investors with net purchases of 0.6 trillion won.

In addition to stocks, foreign investors also bought a net 11.34 trillion won worth of local bonds in May. Their holdings of these bonds amounted to 300.5 trillion won by the end of May, representing 11.2 percent of listed bonds, as per the data provided.