[Economy 365]

The financial service account reached a record high as foreign stock trading in Korea increased this year.

In May, the financial service account surplus stood at 556.5 million dollars, the largest since the statistics were first compiled in 1980.

The financial service account is the amount calculated by subtracting the costs paid by domestic institutions to foreign financial institutions from the revenue earned by domestic financial institutions for providing financial services abroad.

Financial service revenue in May reached 880.5 million dollars, marking an all-time high and approximately 2.7 times the amount paid out.

The Bank of Korea explained that this was due to an increase in transaction fee revenue for domestic financial institutions as foreign trading of domestic stocks grew.

As of the end of May, the balance of domestic listed stocks held by foreigners was 2,852 trillion won, with the proportion of foreign ownership relative to market capitalization also reaching a record high of 35.3 percent.

*This article was produced using AI audio.