On the 20th, the won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1,478.1 won per U.S. dollar, up 4.4 won from the previous day. Following verbal intervention by Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Minister, the won-dollar rate, which had once fallen into the 1,460-won range, has remained in the 1,470-won range for three straight trading days as of today.
That day in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar rate opened at 1,474.5 won, up 0.8 won from the previous day. On the night of the 14th, Minister Bessent posted on the social networking service X (formerly Twitter) that "(with Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance) we discussed that the recent weakness of the won is inconsistent with Korea's solid economic fundamentals," sending the won-dollar rate to as low as 1,469.7 won.
But it was only temporary. Afterward, the won-dollar rate finished higher for three straight trading days. In particular, the rate rose to as high as 1,479.65 won at 11:22 a.m. that day. It pared gains into the weekly market close (3:30 p.m.), but still rose by more than 4 won from the previous day.
This rise in the won-dollar rate (won weakness) is interpreted as stemming from yen weakness (a rise in the dollar-yen rate). Im Hwan-yeol, a researcher at Woori Bank, said, "The won is grouped with the yen as Asian currency and tends to track the yen's moves," adding, "The yen's weakness or sideways trend (a price that holds without fluctuation) appears to have affected the won-dollar rate."
At the same time in the Tokyo foreign exchange market, the yen's exchange rate against the U.S. dollar was fluctuating in the upper 158.4-yen range, up 0.3 yen from the previous day. The move followed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's announcement the previous day that she would dissolve the House of Representatives (the lower house). Markets see Prime Minister Takaichi pushing for a snap general election next month, which could give momentum to her fiscal expansion policy. Such a policy leads to an expansion of Japan's fiscal deficit.