Foreign shareholders receive over 11 trillion won in dividends amid KOSPI boom

South Korea's stock market has seen a significant surge, with foreign shareholders benefiting from a substantial increase in dividend payouts. In 2025, foreign investors received over 11 trillion won in dividends, marking a 21% year-on-year increase. This rise is attributed to the robust performance of the KOSPI index throughout the year.

Analysis of 1,246 companies that paid year-end dividends in 2025 revealed a total dividend payout of 37.75 trillion won, up 16.9% from the previous year. Companies listed on the KOSPI paid 34.68 trillion won, a 15.6% increase, while KOSDAQ-listed firms distributed 3.07 trillion won, a notable 34.0% rise. The strong performance of both the KOSPI (up 75.6%) and KOSDAQ (up 36.5%) indices compared to the previous year is seen as the primary driver for these increased payouts.

Foreign shareholders received a total of 11.88 trillion won in dividends from 1,244 companies, a 21.3% increase from the prior year. Their share of the total dividends paid by listed companies also rose by 1.2 percentage points to 31.5%. KOSPI companies paid 11.47 trillion won to foreign shareholders, up 20.2%, while KOSDAQ companies paid 410.2 billion won, a significant 65.5% increase.

Samsung Electronics led the pack as the top dividend payer to foreign shareholders, distributing 2.05 trillion won. Kia followed with 989.2 billion won, and SK Hynix with 717.6 billion won. Other major dividend payers included Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and KB Financial Group. American investors received the largest portion of foreign dividends, totaling 5.1 trillion won, representing 43.0% of the total.