Won Breaches 1,500 Per Dollar, Hits 17-Year High

The Korean won surpassed 1,500 per dollar during intraday trading for the first time in 17 years since March 2009.

On the Seoul foreign exchange market on the 16th, the won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1,501 won, up 7.3 won from the previous trading day. The rate later pared gains following intervention by foreign exchange authorities and dollar selling by exporters, closing at 1,497.5 won at 3:30 p.m., up 3.8 won from the previous day, narrowly holding the 1,400 won line.

The recent surge in the exchange rate stems from investors fleeing the won, a risk asset, as the dollar strengthens amid inflation concerns driven by rising oil prices. President Donald Trump's inconsistent remarks are also amplifying volatility. In a phone interview with the Financial Times on the 15th (local time), Trump pressured China, saying, "The U.S.-China summit could be delayed if China does not dispatch warships."

Market participants are concerned that the 1,500 won level could become the new normal. The won-dollar exchange rate has closed above 1,400 won for a total of 196 trading days since 2025, and has not fallen below 1,400 won for a single day this year. With the 1,400 won level already established as the "new normal," anxiety is spreading across the market that the 1,500 won level could follow a similar path. This is why voices are calling for high-intensity policy responses such as international coordination.

Market perceptions of the upper bound are also shifting rapidly. At the start of the year, many viewed forecasts of a breach above 1,500 won as excessive, but now that the 1,500 won line has been broken in regular trading, there is even discussion of the possibility of reaching the mid-1,600 won range.

However, few are certain that resistance levels will rise sharply in the immediate term. Lee Young-hwa, an economist at Busan Bank, analyzed, "We must also keep open the possibility of downside movement, as exporters still have remaining dollar-selling volumes."