On December 24, 2025, South Korean authorities issued a verbal intervention stating an excessively weak Korean won is undesirable, as the currency hit levels not seen since 2009. Building on measures from December 18—including eased bank rules and intensified FX monitoring—the won rebounded from 1,483.6 to the 1,470 range post-statement.
South Korean foreign exchange authorities, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance and Bank of Korea, released a joint press notice on December 24, 2025: "Excessive weakness of the won is not desirable. The government has held a series of meetings over the past one to two weeks and announced agency-specific measures to demonstrate its strong commitment to stabilization."
The won had weakened to 1,483.6 per USD on December 23—the lowest since April 9 (1,484.1) and nearing its 2009 global financial crisis low of 1,496.5. It opened at 1,484.9 on December 24 but climbed to 1,470.2 by mid-morning after the intervention.
Hana Bank researcher Suh Jeong-hoon attributed the pressure to importer dollar demand and year-end overseas investments, despite prior stabilization steps and foreign stock buying.
New initiatives include a four-agency consultative body (finance ministry, BOK, National Pension Service, welfare ministry) to tie NPS investments to market stability via hedging. Further measures: tweaks to forward FX positions, paused foreign currency liquidity stress tests (extended to June), and expanded won-denominated FX lending. The presidential office also convened the heads of South Korea's seven largest firms for currency stabilization ideas.
These steps address inflation and inequality risks from the won's decline, continuing efforts amid global pressures.
