The South Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar on November 14, rebounding from a seven-month low following pledges by authorities to stabilize the foreign exchange market. The currency had weakened below the psychologically significant 1,450 won threshold last week for the first time since April.
On November 14 in Seoul, the South Korean won opened at 1,471.9 per U.S. dollar and dipped to 1,474.9 early in the session before strengthening to 1,459.4 by 10:00 a.m. This rebound followed a close of 1,467.7 on November 13, marking a seven-month low since April 9 at 1,484.1—the weakest since March 12, 2009, during the global financial crisis at 1,496.5.
At a macroeconomic policy meeting, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol, Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong, and heads of the Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service expressed concerns over FX market uncertainty. They vowed to "actively use available policy tools" and address structural imbalances in foreign currency supply and demand. The Ministry of Economy and Finance stated plans to consult with the National Pension Service (NPS) and major exporters to devise stabilization measures. This was the first verbal intervention since October.
The won's weakness stems from heavy foreign stock selling, a weaker Japanese yen, strengthening dollar supported by U.S. economic stability and Japanese stimulus expectations, rising local investments in U.S. stocks, and exporters holding dollar proceeds. The ministry warned that "if the FX supply-demand imbalance driven by overseas investment persists, expectations of a weaker won could become entrenched." The KOSPI fell 2.53% to 4,065.09 by 10:00 a.m. BOK Governor Rhee noted on November 13 that authorities are ready to intervene against excess volatility.