By Cynthia Kim
SEOUL, Jan 30 (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury said recent depreciation in the South Korean won was not in line with the Asian country’s strong economic fundamentals, in an assessment that was part of a semi-annual currency report.
“Depreciation pressures on the won were acute in the fourth quarter of 2024 as the central bank reduced its policy rate in November and amid the onset of domestic political instability,” said the report released on Thursday. “The won depreciated further in late 2025, which was not in line with Korea’s strong economic fundamentals.”
The rare U.S. assessment on the dollar-won level came after South Korean authorities in December rolled out measures to bolster the currency as it slumped towards the psychologically important level of 1,500 per dollar.
The currency has been under pressure from domestic investors’ purchase of overseas stocks and concerns about additional U.S. investment, which was part of a trade deal with President Donald Trump’s administration.
The won closed at 1,434.0 per dollar on Thursday, bouncing in recent days after a joint response between Japan and the U.S. helped strengthen the yen.
In its latest semi-annual currency report, the Treasury said no major trading partner met all three criteria for enhanced analysis of currency practices during the last half of 2024 and the first six months of 2025. South Korea remained on a “monitoring list” meriting close attention, but was not accused of currency manipulation.
(Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by Chris Reese and Jamie Freed)
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