Bond yields have been on a steady rise since the second half of last year with the yields on three-year Treasuries surging to 1.687 percent on Wednesday, from 1.308 percent at the end of August, which means bond prices tumbled sharply during the cited period.  

In contrast, funds that invest in overseas bonds have posted a cash inflow of 367 billion won this month through Wednesday, the data showed.

"After Donald Trump was elected as the next U.S. president, bond yields have surged," said Oh Eun-soo, an analyst at KB Securities. "The trend (of cash outflows) will continue for the time being amid increased inflationary pressure."

Separate data compiled by another industry tracker KG Zeroin showed that the country's stock funds have suffered massive money outflows in the first three weeks of this year apparently on profit-taking.

Domestic stock funds, excluding exchange traded funds, posted net outflows of 1.03 trillion won this year as of Monday, the data showed.

It came after a total net outflow of 7.9 trillion won from local stock funds last year. Market watchers pointed out that the net outflow has quickened this year. (Yonhap)