Overseas securities purchased by South Korean financial institutions, including asset management and insurance companies, posted record growth in the first quarter.

According to Bank of Korea data, the value of overseas securities investment held by South Korean institutional investors sharply increased by more than 22 billion dollars to 284-point-eight billion dollars during January to March. 

The increase is an all-time quarterly high in monetary value and eight-and-a-half percent higher compared to late last year.

The surge in overseas stock investments is attributed to an increase in the appraised value of the shares as global stock markets recovered after tanking in late 2018.