Investor money seeking to ride gains in South Korea's stock market is flocking to a flagship exchange-traded fund (ETF). Samsung Asset Management's KODEX 200 net assets have surpassed 30 trillion won for the first time in the history of domestic ETFs.

Samsung Asset Management said on June 4 that net assets of KODEX 200 stood at 30.8 trillion won. After topping 10 trillion won in October last year, it surpassed 20 trillion won in April this year and reached the 30 trillion won mark two months later.

KODEX 200 is South Korea's first ETF and is currently the country's largest. Since it was listed in October 2002, it has established itself as a flagship product that allows broad investment in the local stock market, centred on leading domestic companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

The pace of net asset growth has also been the fastest so far this year. KODEX 200 net assets have increased 19.1 trillion won since the start of the year, ranking No. 1 among all ETFs in net asset growth over the period. Individual investors net bought 2.6 trillion won over the same period.

Samsung Asset Management explained that as the local stock market has recently shown strength, investor demand to participate in index gains has flowed into KODEX 200. As the KOSPI continued a record-high trend led by large semiconductor stocks, interest in representative index ETFs also appeared to grow.

KODEX 200's growth has also affected the expansion of Samsung Asset Management's overall ETF net assets. Net assets of Samsung Asset Management's KODEX ETF lineup topped 200 trillion won on May 29. Total net assets of KODEX ETFs now stand at 203.7 trillion won, with market share nearing 40 percent.

KODEX 200 is also considered a representative product in terms of long-term performance. Since its listing in October 2002, its cumulative return has reached 2,750 percent. It has also achieved a 133.6 percent return since the start of this year.

Jae-wook Jung (정재욱), head of ETF Management Team 3 at Samsung Asset Management, said, "The KODEX 200 ETF is a product that has built symbolism alongside the growth of the South Korean economy." He added, "Going forward, it will continue to play a master key role in helping investors build long-term assets."