▲ Officials work at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul on Jan. 16, 2026. (Yonhap)

Korean currency-weakness

Korean won slips again as 'Bessent effect' fades amid dollar strength, weak yen

SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean currency fell below the 1,470 won level per U.S. dollar Friday, retreating after a single-session rebound amid broad dollar strength and a weaker yen.

The won was quoted at 1,473.6 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 3.9 won from the previous session.

The local currency had fallen for 10 consecutive trading sessions through Wednesday before snapping the losing streak Thursday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the won's recent weakness is not in line with South Korea's strong economic fundamentals and excess volatility in the foreign exchange market is undesirable.

The U.S. dollar strengthened overnight on upbeat U.S. employment data, while the Japanese yen remained weak.

The won has hovered around the closely watched 1,450 won level recently despite authorities' verbal interventions and policy steps, largely due to dollar strength, geopolitical risks and heavy overseas securities investments by local investors, experts said.

In an effort to safeguard financial stability amid the faltering currency, the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Thursday kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.5 percent for the fifth straight meeting.

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