The amount of short selling in South Korea plunged nearly 30 percent in June from a month earlier on a bullish stock market, data showed Thursday.

The daily turnover of short selling on the country's main and minor stock markets averaged 506 billion won ($448 million) last month, down 28.3 percent from May, according to the data from the Korea Exchange.

The main market posted a 31.6 percent tumble, with the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market registering a 13.2 percent decline.

Short selling is an investment technique in which investors sell borrowed shares in hopes of price falls, and then repurchase those shares at a lower price and return them for a profit.

Market analysts attributed last month's sharp drop in the value of short selling to the strong performance of the two bourses.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 2.9 percent in June from the prior month, surpassing the 3,300-point mark for the first time on June 25.

The index for the secondary market also spiked 4.91 percent, recovering to the 1,000-point level in two months.

The most short-sold stock was internet portal giant Kakao with 618 billion won, followed by top shipper HMM Co. with 614 billion won, power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. with 599 billion won and chip titan SK hynix Inc. with 314 billion won. (Yonhap)