The South Korean won rallied nearly 1% toward 1,460 per dollar, recouping part of this year’s losses after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized the currency’s excessive depreciation in a rare verbal intervention. The won had been down more than 2% year-to-date before his comments, sliding toward its weakest level since 2009. Bessent said the currency should reflect Korea’s strong economic fundamentals, making the remarks after talks with Finance Minister Koo Yun Cheol. Meanwhile, local authorities are preparing to issue FX stabilization bonds as early as late January, with the issuance ceiling tripled to $5 billion this year, signaling readiness to bolster reserves and defend the currency. Investors are also looking ahead to the Bank of Korea’s next policy decision, where rates are widely expected to remain unchanged as exchange-rate volatility and elevated housing prices limit room for near-term easing.