On the 15th, the won closed at 1,471 won per U.S. dollar, down 2.7 won. Early in the session, continued foreign selling of domestic stocks pushed the rate close to 1,480 won, but the rate fell in the afternoon as the yen strengthened.
In the Seoul foreign exchange market that day, the won-dollar rate opened at 1,476 won, up 2.3 won from the prior session's weekly transaction closing price (3:30 p.m.). After the open, the rate extended gains to as high as 1,477.9 won, then reversed lower in the afternoon. Just before the close, it fell to 1,469.9 won and ended the session at 1,471 won.
The exchange rate faced both upward and downward pressure that day. In the morning, the won weakened, tracking net foreign selling. When foreigners sell Korean stocks, demand arises to convert won into dollars, which becomes a factor driving the rate higher. As of 9:05 a.m. that day, foreigners were net sellers of 202.3 billion won in the Korea Exchange. The selling eased somewhat in the afternoon, but by the market close foreigners were still net sellers of 43.3 billion won.
The expansion of foreign net selling was driven by the spreading "artificial intelligence (AI) bubble" debate, sparked by U.S. tech giant Oracle in the U.S. stock market. Oracle had long been categorized as a representative AI-related stock and had risen sharply, but with earnings announcements for September–November, assessments emerged that it was spending an excessive expense on data center investment, sending the stock plunging for two straight days on the 11th (10.83%) and the 12th (4.47%). As a result, the Nasdaq fell 0.25% on the 11th and another 1.68% on the 12th.
In the afternoon, however, the rate fell, tracking the yen, which moves closely with the won. The yen strengthened as expectations spread that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could raise its policy rate by 0.25 percentage point to 0.75% at its monetary policy meeting on the 18th–19th. According to Investing.com, as of 4:32 p.m. that day, the dollar-yen rate was 155.2 yen, down 0.64 yen from the previous day.
Signals of successive government responses on the exchange rate also eased the won's weakness. Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, held an emergency economic ministers' meeting the previous day to review financial and foreign exchange market trends. That morning, Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), reviewed financial market conditions together with the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Institute of Finance, and the Korea Development Institute (KDI).
Im Hwan-yeol, a researcher at Woori Bank, said, "The exchange rate moved with global financial market trends today," and added, "In the morning, the won weakened on concerns over AI-related stocks that originated in the U.S. stock market, and in the afternoon, it turned stronger as expectations for a Bank of Japan rate hike came to the fore."