宣布戒嚴後，韓元兌美元匯率飆升，但外匯存底實際上增加了。

發現透過微調而非主動市場幹預來捍衛匯率來控制波動，也產生了外幣資管利潤。

President Yoon Seok-yeol’s declaration of martial law led to a steep rise in the won-dollar exchange rate, but South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves surprisingly increased.

總統尹錫烈宣布戒嚴導致韓元兌美元匯率大幅上漲，但韓國的外匯存底卻意外增加。

The adjustment was attributed to the authorities’ minimal intervention in the foreign exchange market to curb the volatility, rather than deploying the reserves aggressively to defend the exchange rate, as well as gains from managing overseas assets.

此次調整的原因是當局為抑制波動而對外匯市場進行了最小程度的干預，而不是大舉動用外匯儲備來捍衛匯率，以及管理海外資產的收益。

According to the foreign exchange reserves status for December 2024, released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Monday, the country’s foreign exchange reserves stood at a total of $415.6 billion as of the end of last month.

韓國央行(BOK)週一公佈的2024年12月外匯存底狀況顯示，截至上月底，韓國外匯存底總額為4,156億美元。

The figure marks an increase of $210 million from the $415.39 billion recorded at the end of November last year. By category, while the value of marketable securities decreased by $5.72 billion to $366.67 billion, the value of deposits rose by a larger margin, from $191.3 billion to $252.2 billion, leading to an overall increase in foreign exchange reserves.

這一數字比去年 11 月底的 4,153.9 億美元增加了 2.1 億美元。分類別來看，有價證券金額3666.7億美元，減少57.2億美元，但存款金額增幅較大，從1913億美元增加到2522億美元，外匯儲備總體增加。

Initially, the market was largely concerned that the country’s foreign exchange reserves would be significantly depleted last month. This was due to the soaring exchange rate following the declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, which necessitated the intervention of foreign exchange authorities in the market.

最初，市場主要擔心上個月該國外匯存底將大幅減少。這是由於12月3日宣布戒嚴後匯率飆升，外匯局必須幹預市場。

Indeed, the exchange rate rose sharply throughout the month. The rate, which closed at 1,402.9 won to the dollar in interbank transactions on Dec. 3, jumped into the 1,440 won range that night following the declaration of martial law and continued to rise, reaching 1,472.5 won by the end of last month.

事實上，整個月匯率都大幅上漲。 12月3日，銀行間交易收盤價為1,402.9韓元兌1美元，在宣布戒嚴令後當晚，該匯率躍升至1,440韓元區間，並持續上漲，到上月底達到1,472.5韓元。

During this process, as the foreign exchange authorities engaged in selling dollars, there were even outlooks suggesting that the country’s foreign exchange reserves would fall below the threshold of $400 billion.

過程中，隨著外匯局大肆拋售美元，甚至有人預測外匯存底將跌破4,000億美元大關。

However, contrary to the concerns, the country’s foreign exchange reserves increased, largely as a result of the authorities’ minimal intervention in the market, despite the pressing need.

然而，與擔憂相反，該國的外匯儲備有所增加，這主要是由於當局儘管迫切需要，但對市場的干預程度極低。

The BOK and the Ministry of Economy and Finance are said to have opted for minimal intervention, aiming to adjust the volatility rather than actively intervening to lower the exchange rate.

據稱，韓國央行和經濟財政部選擇了最小程度的干預，旨在調整波動性，而不是積極幹預以降低匯率。

Despite the rapid rise in the exchange rate last month, the foreign exchange authorities were observed to have made only verbal interventions, stating that “market stabilization measures will be taken if the volatility worsens,” and the market judged that the volume of actual interventions, presumed to be dollar sales by the authorities, was also limited.

儘管上個月匯率快速上漲，但據觀察，外匯局僅進行了口頭幹預，表示“如果波動加劇，將採取穩定市場的措施”，而市場判斷實際幹預的數量，當局推測是美元銷售，也受到限制。

“Smoothing operations were carried out after the declaration of martial law,” BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said at a press conference on price trends in mid-December, adding that “the exchange rate has since been moving in line with the dollar.”

韓國央行行長李昌鏑在 12 月中旬的物價趨勢新聞發布會上表示，“宣布戒嚴令後，進行了平穩操作”，並補充道，“此後匯率一直與美元走勢一致。” ”

“There were concerns that foreign exchange reserves would fall below the threshold of $410 billion and decrease to the mid- to low-$400 billion range in the mid- to long term, but this did not happen. It did fall below $4,100 billion.”

「有人擔心中長期外匯存底將跌破4,100億美元大關，並降至4,000億美元中低區間，但這並沒有發生。它確實跌破了 4.1 兆美元。

Apart from the authorities’ minimal intervention, the increase in foreign exchange reserves was also attributed to an uptick in financial institutions’ foreign currency deposits at the end of the quarter and gains from managing overseas assets, which amounted to a significant sum, the BOK explained.

韓國央行解釋稱，除了當局的最低限度幹預外，外匯儲備的增加還歸因於金融機構季末外幣存款的增加以及管理海外資產的收益，數額較大。