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SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Yonhap) — The country’s financial authorities on Thursday reaffirmed that they will take timely steps, if necessary, to stem volatility in the foreign exchange (FX) market.
In a meeting on the financial market, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said the authorities will step up the market monitoring and reconfirmed timely actions against the won’s decline, if necessary.
The meeting was also attended by Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission; Lee Chan-jin, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service; and Bank of Korea (BOK) Deputy Gov. Ryoo Sang-dai.
They shared the view that the local financial market remains stable but expressed concerns over an increase in volatility in the currency market.
Their meeting came as the Korean won has been falling sharply against the U.S. dollar. The local currency ended at 1,479.80 against the greenback Wednesday, the lowest level since April 9, when the won closed at 1,484.1 won.
In a bid to smooth out the market volatility, the state-run pension fund, the National Pension Service, has activated a foreign-exchange swap agreement with the BOK.
The financial authorities also said they will ease some rules on financial institutions’ FX soundness.
According to the finance ministry, the two foreign banks — Citibank Korea and Standard Chartered Bank Korea — will be allowed to take forward currency positions up to 200 percent of their paid-in capital, up from the current 70 percent.
The ministry also said it will suspend a stress test on financial institutions’ foreign currency liquidity level till June next year.
Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol (C) speaks during a meeting on financial markets in Seoul on Dec. 18, 2025. (Yonhap)
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