Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Minister, issued a strongly worded message expressing concern about the won's sharp depreciation.
According to the U.S. Treasury on the 14th (local time), Minister Bessent, regarding the recent decline in the won's value, told Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, who visited the United States on the 12th, that it "does not align with Korea's strong fundamentals (economic basic conditions)," and emphasized that "excessive volatility in the foreign exchange market is undesirable."
He also reaffirmed that "Korea's strong economic performance in key industrial sectors supporting the U.S. economy makes Korea a core partner of the United States in Asia."
Against this backdrop, attention is turning to why the U.S. Treasury chief made remarks about a specific country's currency value that could influence the foreign exchange market. Given that the related position was released two days after the two sides met, some also observe that there may have been prior coordination with the Korean government.
In addition, the remarks do not appear unrelated to the fact that Korea's $350 billion (about 512 trillion won) investment pledge in the United States is being cited as one of the causes of the won's weakness.
Minister Bessent said, "The implementation of the investment must proceed smoothly," adding, "This agreement will further deepen the economic partnership between the United States and Korea and promote the revival of U.S. industrial capacity." The point was made clear that the investment implementation should not be disrupted by the weak won.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Koo visited the United States to attend the G7 (Group of Seven) core minerals finance ministers' meeting in Washington, D.C., and met with Minister Bessent. It is known that the two sides also exchanged views on economic trends in both countries and ways to strengthen economic ties.