On the 15th, the won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1,465 won per U.S. dollar, down 12.5 won from the previous day. Overnight, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a verbal intervention-style message, saying the recent weak-won trend (a rise in the won-dollar rate) was excessive.
At 11:03 p.m. the previous day, Minister Bessent posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that "the won's depreciation does not align with Korea's solid economic fundamentals." He issued a verbal intervention-style message, which came after he met Koo Yun-cheol, deputy prime minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, in Washington, D.C., on the 12th (local time) to discuss Korea's foreign exchange market.
Following Minister Bessent's remarks, by 2 a.m., when overnight trading ended that day, the won-dollar exchange rate had closed at 1,464 won, down 9.7 won from the previous day's close. The impact of Minister Bessent's comments appears to be extending into daytime trading (9 a.m.–3:30 p.m.) that day.
Park Sang-hyun, a researcher at iM Securities, said, "It is unusual for the U.S. Treasury secretary to comment on the won's value," adding, "Heightened caution about additional market intervention is likely to put the brakes on the steep weak-won trend for now."