The South Korean won climbed to near its strongest level in almost two years against the US dollar on Monday, propelled by sustained dollar selling from local exporters converting their foreign currency earnings. At 3:30 PM local time, the greenback was quoted at 1,340.5 won, marking a 9.9-won drop from its prior session close.

During early trading, the won surged to an intraday high of 1,334.7 per dollar, its most robust reading since October 4, 2024, as domestic exporters actively offloaded their dollar holdings. The recent multi-week rally has been underpinned by two key factors: reduced dollar asset accumulation by South Korean exporters and SK Hynix converting funds raised from its substantial US listing back into the local currency.

Notably, the won's strength persisted despite better-than-expected US employment data, which has fueled speculation about potential Federal Reserve rate hikes. However, the currency gave back a portion of its gains following reports from local media that South Korea's National Pension Service, one of the world's largest pension funds, had suspended its currency hedging operations.

In the previous trading session, foreign investors recorded net purchases of 2.5 trillion won (approximately $1.86 billion) in Korean equities. This robust foreign buying helped propel the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) substantially higher, with a 4.61% surge to close at 6,995.39 points.