# Korea's US stock boom is only getting started: Toss strategist > Source: > Published: 2026-06-21 05:18:10+00:00 Retail investors' US holdings near $200 billion as AI stocks fuel Wall Street presence South Korean investors have emerged as an increasingly influential force in US equities, boosting their holdings of American stocks to nearly $200 billion and becoming some of the world's most aggressive buyers of leading artificial intelligence companies. Yet despite their growing presence on Wall Street, the country's investors are still in the early stages of investing in US equities, according to Lee Young-gon, head of research at Toss Securities. "Korean retail investors have only been investing meaningful amounts of capital in the US market for a few years," Lee said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. "In a way, Korea is still in the early stages of investing in US equities." The growth has been rapid. Korean investors held $4.66 billion worth of US stocks in 2018. The figure doubled to $8.42 billion in 2019, surged to $37.34 billion in 2020 and continued climbing to $193.74 billion as of June. While that still represents only about 0.2 percent of the more than $75 trillion US stock market, Korean investors wield far greater influence in specific stocks. At times, they have ranked among the largest shareholders of Tesla alongside global asset managers such as BlackRock and Vanguard. "Korean retail investors tend to concentrate their investments," Lee said. Despite their growing presence, Korean investors often remain excluded from highly sought-after private-market opportunities such as SpaceX. The challenge could persist as investors await potential future listings from AI leaders, including OpenAI and Anthropic. Lee believes the situation will gradually change as global issuers recognize the scale and influence of Korean capital. "The scale of Korean investment is no longer insignificant," he said. "I hope Korean investors will not be overlooked in the future." The boom in overseas investing has also transformed Toss Securities. Riding Koreans' growing appetite for US stocks, the brokerage has outpaced much larger rivals in overseas stock trading. It ranked first in the industry last year with 449.4 billion won ($293 million) in overseas stock custody commission revenue. In the first quarter, overseas stock commissions rose 43.5 percent on-year to 124.4 billion won, helping drive a 117 percent jump in operating revenue to 340.5 billion won. Operating profit increased 34.3 percent to 111.7 billion won. A key driver has been Toss Securities' fractional share trading service, launched in 2022, which allows investors to buy portions of high-priced US stocks with relatively small amounts of capital. While a growing number of Korean investors have recently shifted money back into domestic equities amid a strong rally in the local stock market and government-led tax incentives, Lee stressed that US stocks should remain a core component of long-term portfolios. Artificial intelligence remains the dominant theme in global markets, he said, and the companies shaping the industry are still concentrated in the US. "Some Korean chipmakers are benefiting from the AI boom, but the companies shaping and leading the industry are largely based in the US," Lee said. "From a long-term perspective, investors still need exposure to the US market, where a broader range of companies stands to benefit from the growth of AI." Having started his career at Hanwha Investment & Securities as an analyst in 2000, Lee has built a 25-year career in the industry. He later worked at Hana Securities and served as chief investment officer at KNT Investment before joining Toss Securities in 2023. silverstar@heraldcorp.com