The South Korean won weakened to around 1,475 per dollar, resuming losses after a brief recovery despite intensified efforts by authorities and financial institutions to stabilize the currency. Over the weekend, major commercial banks, in coordination with foreign-exchange regulators, implemented measures designed to increase dollar supply in the domestic market and discourage excessive demand for US currency. In parallel, the Bank of Korea has introduced temporary incentives for banks by paying interest on mandatory foreign-currency reserves, a move intended to improve dollar availability within the financial system and ease volatility in the exchange rate. Separately, investor caution heightened after US officials signaled potential tariffs on foreign memory chipmakers, with focus on South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, raising concerns over exports.
