KOSPI falls, foreigners net buyers Korean won weakens against U.S. dollar South Korea benchmark bond yield rises SEOUL, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets: ** South Korean shares fell on Thursday, weighed down by elevated U.S. yields and a firmer dollar, as minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting signalled a sooner-than-expected rate hike, dampening appetite for riskier assets. ** The Korean won weakened to its lowest level in more than 17 months, heightening concerns over capital outflows and financial market instability. The benchmark bond yield rose. ** By 0212 GMT, the benchmark KOSPI (.KS11) was down 7.91 points, or 0.27%, to 2,946.06, following a 1.18% decline in the previous session. ** Among the heavyweights, chip giant Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) slid 0.13%, while platform companies Naver (035420.KS) and Kakao (035720.KS) fell 3.24% and 4.27%, respectively. ** According to minutes of the Fed"s December policy meeting, U.S. central bank policymakers said a "very tight" job market and unabated inflation might require it to raise rates sooner and begin reducing its overall asset holdings as a second brake on the economy. read more ** Foreigners were net buyers of 78.4 billion won ($65.42 million) worth of shares on the main board. ** Institutional investors turned net buyers for the first time in six days, ending their sell-off in equities that went ex-dividend on Dec. 29. They sold a total net 5.38 trillion won ($4.49 billion) worth of shares during their selling spree. ** Only those who purchased equities by Dec. 28 can receive dividend payments, which led to a buying spree by institutional and foreign investors. ** The won was quoted at 1,198.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform , 0.13% lower than its previous close. ** Earlier in the session, the unit weakened as much as 0.37% to the lowest level since July 27, 2020. ** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,198.4, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,199.3. ** In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.21 point to 108.44. ** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 6.3 basis points to 1.976%. ($1 = 1,198.3200 won)