Overview
- Finance, central bank, health ministry and NPS held a first meeting to coordinate responses to the currency’s weakness and the fund’s overseas flows.
- The won closed near 1,477 per dollar on Monday, a seven‑month low and close to 2009 levels, while the BIS real effective index fell to 89.09 in October, the weakest since August 2009.
- Measures under review include increasing NPS currency hedging, selling dollars via forwards or futures, and extending the BOK–NPS swap line with a $65 billion ceiling that expires year‑end.
- Foreign investors’ net selling of Kospi shares has fueled dollar demand and pressured the won; equities rebounded at Tuesday’s open on dovish Fed signals, with the won near 1,475.4.
- Washington has kept Korea on its currency‑monitoring list and flagged the NPS and its swap access, as Seoul maintains that curbing excess FX volatility is legitimate policy.