988 Won to 100 Yen, Lowest Exchange Rate in 2 Years

The Won-Yen exchange rate is continuously going down. The won exchange rate to dollar in the Seoul foreign exchange market closed at 1,309.5 won yesterday, which is 7.50 won up compared to the previous day. The yen-dollar exchange rate also went down by 2 yens to 132.66 yen in the Tokyo foreign exchange market. Consequently, the won-yen exchange rate also plunged down to 988.8 won to 100 yen, recording the lowest rate since July 19th, 1999.

The yen exchange rate hiked up by the remark of Kuroda Haruhiko, the international director of the Japan`s Finance Ministry, that "the yen is currently under the control [of the Japanese government]. It is commendable that the exchange rate reflects the fundamentals of the economy."

Lee Eung-Baek, the director of the foreign exchange market team of the Bank of Korea, explained that "Even though the won is becoming weak under the influence of the weakening yen, the devaluation rate of the won did not reach the devaluation rate of the yen due to the influx of 150 million dollars of stock investment funds."

Rae-Jeong Park sanjuck@donga.com · Joong-Hyun Park ecopark@donga.com