Korean won worst performer among major peers over martial law

Yonhap, Philippine News Agency

The won was down 1.86 percent against the greenback Friday from a week earlier, the worst performer among major currencies. (Pexels Photo)

SEOUL – The South Korean currency was the worst performer around the globe last week as the political turmoil following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law has affected sentiment, data showed Sunday.

The Korean won dropped by 24.5 won per dollar over the past week, the sharpest weekly fall since the third week of January when the currency dropped 25.

5 won, according to data compiled by Yonhap Infomax, Yonhap News Agency’s financial information arm.

The won was down 1.86 percent against the greenback Friday from a week earlier, the worst performer among major currencies.

The Australian dollar lost 1.32 percent and the Chinese yuan fell 0.36 percent against the U.S. dollar, while the Japanese yuan and the British pound gained 0.1 percent and 0.26 percent, respectively.

The won plunged to 1,442 won, the lowest since October 2022, during offshore intraday trading Wednesday, hours after Yoon declared emergency martial law in a surprise late-night televised address, and has stayed at the 1,400 won level.

On Friday, the local currency was quoted at 1,419.20 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 4.1 won from the previous session.

“The political developments have further dented investor sentiment, already affected by concerns about the semiconductor industry cycle and uncertainty stemming from Donald Trump’s tariff policy,” said Moon Jeong-hee, an economist from KB Kookmin Bank. (Yonhap)