Following the December 15 warnings, South Korea's financial authorities on December 18 intensified monitoring of the volatile FX market and announced eased regulations for banks, as the won hit 1,479.80 per dollar—the lowest since April.
Building on the December 15 meeting where authorities pledged preemptive actions against market volatility, a December 18 financial markets meeting in Seoul—attended by Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol, Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon, Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin, and Bank of Korea Deputy Governor Ryoo Sang-dai—reaffirmed commitments to timely interventions amid the won's continued decline.
The won closed at 1,479.80 per dollar on Wednesday, down from 1,473.7 on December 12 and the lowest since April 9 (1,484.1). To address volatility, the state-run National Pension Service activated a foreign-exchange swap with the Bank of Korea.
Key measures include easing FX soundness rules: Citibank Korea and Standard Chartered Bank Korea may now hold forward currency positions up to 200 percent of paid-in capital (previously 70 percent). Stress tests on financial institutions' foreign currency liquidity are suspended until June next year.
Authorities assessed overall financial stability but emphasized heightened FX surveillance and readiness for further steps, continuing efforts to stabilize markets amid global pressures.
