Foreign ownership of South Korean stocks fell to a six-year low due to a continued sell-off by overseas investors.

According to the Korea Exchange on Sunday, the value of foreign investors' shareholdings in the country's main bourse KOSPI marked 666 trillion won as of Friday, accounting for 31-point-86 percent of the bourse's market capitalization.

The figure is the lowest since February 11, 2016 when it marked 31-point-77 percent.

The foreign ownership of South Korean stocks reached nearly 40 percent in early 2020, but fell to 33-point-55 percent at the end of last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a sharp increase in individual investors.

Foreign investors net sold five-point-75 trillion won worth of Korean stocks in the main bourse since February 18.

The recent sell-off is mainly attributed to foreign investors turning to safer assets including the U.S. amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine and following sanctions from the West.

Due to the dollar's appreciation, the won-dollar exchange rate recently surpassed one-thousand-230 won per dollar for the first time since May 2020.