South Korea Warns of Excessive Won Volatility, Rare Verbal Intervention by Finance Ministry

The South Korean Ministry of Finance and the central bank jointly sent a text message to journalists on Friday, closely monitoring the dollar exchange rate against the won, and warning that they will "take decisive action" if necessary. This is the first time since last December that the South Korean authorities have verbally intervened through text messages.

The South Korean authorities stated that the recent fluctuations in the won are "too large relative to economic fundamentals." On Friday, the won fell by 0.7% against the dollar, becoming the worst-performing currency in Asia that day. The won briefly narrowed its losses after the official statement but then weakened again.