As the won-dollar exchange rate spiked, the rate applied when travelers buy dollars at bank exchange counters at Incheon International Airport has surpassed 1,600 won.
As of 9:40 a.m. on the 5th, the cash selling rate for dollars at the Incheon Airport branch of Woori Bank was posted at 1,603 won. As of 2:30 p.m. that day, Hana Bank was at 1,603 won and KB Kookmin Bank at 1,605.72 won.
The cash selling rate is the exchange rate applied when customers buy U.S. dollar cash at a bank. It differs from the won-dollar rate transacted in the interbank foreign exchange market.
In the foreign exchange market that day, the won-dollar rate at one point in the morning neared 1,550 won during intraday trading, continuing its high-altitude climb. The rate applied when customers buy dollar cash at bank counters is determined by adding each bank's spread and currency exchange fees to that. In particular, airport branches often see heavy last-minute exchange demand before departure and lower preferential rates, so dollar prices tend to be higher than at downtown bank branches. For this reason, even if the market rate is around 1,550 won, the rate to buy dollars at airport exchange counters can exceed 1,600 won.
Some said the surge in the exchange rate that day temporarily halted currency exchange at Incheon Airport. A government official said this was not true and noted that all exchanges were proceeding normally.