#krw

Foreign investors sold a net ₩7.34 trillion from Korean equities on May 19, extending their streak to nine consecutive sessions of net selling and pushing total outflows past ₩48 trillion since May 7. The KOSPI fell 3.25% to 7,271.66 — intraday the index shed as much as 4.98% — dragged by semiconductor sector weakness after Micron ($MU) shed 5.95% and SanDisk ($SNDK) 5.3% in New York overnight. Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) led large-cap declines with an 8.9% drop.

The Korean won fell through the critical 1,500 per dollar level on May 15, reaching 1,500.2 at 2:13 PM KST — the first breach since April 7. Japan's 10-year JGB yield surged to 2.72%, a 29-year high, triggering risk-off sentiment across Asia, while fading Federal Reserve rate-cut expectations and KRW 5 trillion-plus in foreign equity outflows compounded pressure on the Korean currency.