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| ▲ An electronic signboard at Hana Bank in central Seoul shows the won-dollar exchange rate on Jan. 14, 2026. (Yonhap) |
capital outflow-currency weakness
Net outflow of foreign currency hits US$19.6 bln in 2025: BOK official
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- A net US$19.6 billion of foreign currencies flowed out of South Korea in the first 10 months of last year, leading to the weakness of the Korean won, a Bank of Korea (BOK) official said Wednesday.
The capital outflow came despite a current account surplus of $89.6 billion and a net $31.9 billion investment in Korean securities by foreigners over the cited period, as investment in foreign capital markets by retail investors and the National Pension Service increased, according to the BOK.
"Changes in the behavior of residents here are driving shifts in supply and demand (of foreign currency)," BOK official Kwon Yong-oh said during a symposium on foreign exchange market policies, noting that the residents' investment in overseas securities reached $117.1 billion in the January-October period of 2025, sharply up from $71 billion a year earlier.
Kwon said the massive capital outflow served as a cause of the recent weakness of the Korean won, along with other factors, including the widening growth-rate gap between Korea and the United States, as well as differences in expected returns from the domestic and overseas stock markets.
On Wednesday, the Korean currency was hovering near the 1,480 won level per U.S. dollar, the weakest level since Dec. 23, when the local currency ended at 1,483.6 won.
The Dec. 23 level was just shy of the 2025 low of 1,484.1 won recorded on April 9, which also marked the lowest since March 12, 2009.
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