Foreign ownership of steelmaker POSCO marked the largest increase this year among leading companies listed on South Korea's main bourse. 

According to the analysis by the Korea Exchange on the top 20 stocks in terms of market capitalization, offshore investors owned 49-point-32 percent of POSCO shares as of Monday, up two-point-zero-four percentage points from the end of last year. The price of a POSCO share jumped 43 percent from 166-thousand-500 won to 237-thousand-500 won over the period.

Samsung Electronics came in second in the rise of foreign ownership, followed by LG Household & Health Care.

Samsung Life Insurance, however, saw foreign ownership of its stakes decrease from 17-point-95 percent to 15-point-81 percent over the period.