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 on 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.
The won was down 1.86% against the greenback on Friday from a week earlier, the worst performer among major currencies.
The Australian dollar lost 1.32% and the Chinese yuan fell 0.36% against the U.S. dollar, while the Japanese yen and the British pound gained 0.1% and 0.26%, respectively.
The won plunged to 1,442 won, the lowest since October 2022, during offshore intraday trading on 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)