South Korea's overseas financial assets reached an all-time high last year on the back of increased stock investments and investment returns, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The country's external financial assets came to $2.16 trillion as of end-December, up $198.2 billion from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The net international investment position also hit a record high of $637.9 billion at the end of December, up from $466.1 billion the previous year, the data showed.

The position refers to the difference between Korea's external financial assets and local assets owned by foreigners. It serves as a measure of a country's external solvency.

The country's external debt stood at $628.5 billion as of end-December, up $83.6 billion from the previous year.

Short-term foreign debt, which matures within one year, rose by $6.9 billion over the cited period, and long-term debt rose by $76.7 billion, the data showed.

The ratio of short-term foreign debt to foreign reserves stood at 35.9 percent at the end of December, down 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier. (Yonhap)