▲ Officials work at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul on March 3, 2026. (Yonhap)

Korean currency-volatility

Korean won falls sharply to 1-month low against dollar over Middle East crisis

SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean won fell sharply against the U.S. dollar Tuesday, hitting a one-month low, weighed down by foreign investors' stock selling and risk-averse sentiment amid mounting conflict in the Middle East.

The won was quoted at 1,466.1 per dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 26.4 won from the previous session. It marked the weakest level since Feb. 6, when it closed at 1,469.5 won.

Tuesday's sharp decline followed a large-scale joint military operation by the United States and Israel against Iran on Saturday, which killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The conflict has since widened, involving Lebanon and other nations.

The local currency had hovered above the psychologically important 1,450 won threshold over the past couple of weeks after rebounding from a multiyear low near 1,500 won late last year.

Offshore investors dumped South Korean stocks amid geopolitical tensions, causing the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index to sink 7.24 percent to 5,791.91.

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