Foreign investors turned net sellers of South Korean equities in December last year, as they took profits from a recent stock rally, the central bank said Friday.

Foreigners sold a net $2.36 billion worth of local stocks last month, compared with a net purchase of $5.07 billion in November last year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Offshore investors also became net sellers of Korean bonds worth $170 million last month, the BOK said.

Meanwhile, volatility in South Korea's currency fell in December last year from the previous month, the central bank said.

The daily fluctuation of the dollar-won exchange rate came to an average of 3.5 won last month, down from 4.1 won a month earlier.

The Korean won appreciated 1.9 percent against the US dollar in December.

Situations for the country's foreign currency borrowing remained sound as the spread charged on local banks' short-term, as well as mid- and long-term, overseas borrowing declined, the BOK said.

The spread on credit default swaps for South Korea's five-year dollar-denominated currency stabilization bonds came in at 21 basis points in December, slightly down from 22 basis points a month earlier. (Yonhap)