KOSPI falls, foreigners net buyers Korean won strengthens against U.S. dollar South Korea benchmark bond yield rises SEOUL, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets: ** South Korean shares slid on Thursday, dragged by selling from retail investors ahead of the long-awaited public subscription for battery maker LG Energy Solution"s $10.7 billion IPO. The Korean won strengthened and the benchmark bond yield rose. ** By 0252 GMT, the benchmark KOSPI (.KS11) fell 3.38 points, or 0.11%, to 2,969.10, reversing early gains of 0.32%. ** Among heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) fell 0.51%, while its peer SK Hynix (000660.KS) rose 0.39%. ** LG Energy Solution"s IPO has received bids worth around $80 billion from institutional investors, according to sources, 13 times more than the offered $6 billion, while the public subscription for retail investors will take place on Jan. 18 and 19. read more ** Meanwhile, U.S. December inflation data showed price pressures surging, reiterating the need for a quicker rate hike. The data, however, came in line with expectations, which appeared to have reassured investors. read more ** The South Korean central bank holds its monetary policy meeting on Friday, where it is expected to raise the policy rate to 1.25% to restrain inflationary risks and financial imbalances. read more ** Capping the benchmark index"s decline, foreign investors net bought 112.6 billion won ($94.76 million) worth of KOSPI shares. ** U.S. inflation data had only limited impact on the market, while uncertainties on KOSPI remain high ahead of the mega IPO later this month, said Na Jeong-hwan, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities. ** The won was quoted at 1,188.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform , 0.17% higher than its previous close. ** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,188.3, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,188.7. ** In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.04 point to 108.46. ** The benchmark 10-year yield rose by 0.7 basis point to 2.435%. ($1 = 1,188.2600 won)