SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea plans to open its currency market for around-the-clock trading, giving easier access to foreign investors, President Lee Jae Myung said.
“There is quite a time limit in the currency trading market, but we plan to scrap nearly all of it,” Lee said on Thursday at an investor event in New York, according to a media pool report.
Lee said the government would also address in the near future the lack of offshore won market – a main factor behind global index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International’s (MSCI) classification of South Korea as emerging market.
Since taking office, Lee’s administration has brought various reforms to boost the domestic stock market, including setting up a task force to win developed market status from MSCI, which has sent the benchmark KOSPI to a record high.
South Korea had held a tight grip on currency policy after the destabilising capital flight seen during the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s.
However, it started to gradually open the onshore currency market to foreigners in the second half of 2024.
Currently, the market is open from 9 a.m. local time to 2 a.m. the next day, compared with closing at 3:30 p.m. previously, to cover London hours.
A senior finance ministry official added the plan is to allow offshore transactions in the won and “create a 24-hour foreign exchange computer network within the Bank of Korea,” which require regulatory change but not parliamentary approval, Kim Jae-hwan, director general at the ministry said.
Lee’s comments also come amid stalled trade talks with the U.S. over the foreign exchange implications of a $350 billion investment package promised by Seoul.
“South Korea is $350 billion that’s up front,” U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday, according to the Yonhap news agency. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently discussed with Seoul the idea of slightly increasing the $350 figure, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.
The won fell to its lowest level since mid-May to 1,410.8 per dollar in early Asia trade on Friday, on track for its fourth straight day of losses.
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee, Cynthia Kim; Editing by Sam Holmes)
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