SEOUL, South Korea's overseas financial assets grew sharply in 2023 thanks largely to a jump in investment in U.S. stocks, central bank data showed Tuesday. The nation's external financial assets came to US$1.911 trillion at the end of December last year, up $124.4 billion from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The BOK attributed the on-year surge mainly to increased investment in the United States and European Union countries amid stock rallies. Financial assets in the U.S. jumped $113.8 billion to a record high of $804.6 billion last year, accounting for 42.1 percent of the total, also the highest, as retail investors scrambled to U.S. equities. South Korean entities' financial assets in the EU climbed $10.3 billion to $252.8 billion, and their financial assets in China fell $9.1 billion to $145.2 billion. In line with an international norm, the tally excluded South Korea's foreign reserves, which stood at $420 billion as of end-December, the BOK said. Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion. The data also showed the nation's external financial liabilities increasing $111.6 billion to $1.521 trillion as of end-December. External liabilities owed to the U.S. were the largest at $371.4 billion, or 24.4 percent of the total, followed by Southeast Asian nations with $329.5 billion and the EU with $246 billion. Source: Yonhap News Agency