The Kospi and the won-dollar exchange rate are displayed on a board at Hana Bank's dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. [Yonhap]
The Kospi and the won-dollar exchange rate are displayed on a board at Hana Bank's dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. [Yonhap]

The won weakened more than 10 won against the dollar during the regular session Thursday and continued to fall sharply in after-hours trading.

The won closed the daytime session at 1,529.7 per dollar in the Seoul foreign exchange market — down 13.3 won from the previous day — as of 3:30 p.m. Thursday. The closing rate has now stayed above 1,500 won for 13 consecutive trading sessions since crossing that threshold on May 15. That is the longest such streak since the currency held above 1,500 for 49 consecutive sessions from late December 1997 to early March 1998 during the Asian financial crisis.

The won weakened further in after-hours trading, touching 1,538 per dollar at 4:45 p.m. — the highest level since March 10, 2009, when the rate hit 1,561.0 won intraday during the global financial crisis.

Analysts cited renewed tensions in the Middle East, rising global oil prices and U.S. government bond yields, and heavy net selling by foreign investors in the Korean stock market as the main drivers. The Kospi closed down 1.84 percent at 8,369.41 on Thursday, as foreign investors net sold 6.9528 trillion won (about $4.59 billion) worth of shares.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol, presiding over a market monitoring meeting Thursday morning, said the government would "immediately take necessary measures against excessive one-sided moves."


park.jiyeong@heraldcorp.com