(LEAD) Korean won again nears multiyear low amid foreign stock selling, weak yen

▲ A banker checks dollar bills at Hana Bank's Counterfeit Notes Response Center in Seoul on Jan. 6, 2026. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) Korean currency-weakness

(LEAD) Korean won again nears multiyear low amid foreign stock selling, weak yen

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SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean currency fell further below the 1,470 won level per U.S. dollar Tuesday amid heavy equity selling by foreign investors and the weaker Japanese yen.

The won was quoted at 1,473.7 won against the dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 5.3 won from the previous session.

It marks the weakest level since Dec. 23, when the local currency ended at 1,483.6 won, just shy of the lowest in 2025 at 1,484.1 won recorded April 9.

The April 9 level was also the weakest since March 12, 2009, when the won ended at 1,496.5 won during the global financial crisis.

In response to the currency's weakness, foreign exchange authorities delivered strong verbal intervention on Dec. 24 and have taken various policy measures, leading to a rebound above the 1,450 won level over the following several sessions.

The won, however, has been on a steady decline since Dec. 30 amid persistent imbalances in supply and demand in the market.

"Demand for dollars from importers and local investors for overseas stock investments has pushed the exchange rate higher," Min Kyung-won, an analyst at Woori Bank, said. "The won's weakness has also moved in line with the depreciation of the Japanese yen."

The yen fell Tuesday to its lowest level since July 2024 after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi conveyed to a ruling party executive her intention to dissolve parliament's lower house at the outset of its regular session scheduled to start next week, according to foreign media reports.

Adding to pressure on the won was heavy selling by offshore investors.

Foreigners sold a net 276.77 billion won (US$187.7 million) worth of shares on the main bourse Tuesday, though the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 1.47 percent to a record high of 4,692.64.

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