Korea Business News Agency - NSP NEWS.

(Seoul=NSP NEWS) = Foreign currency deposits increased by $2.14 billion(KRW 3.5378 trillion) last month due to political instability caused by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and the aftermath of the impeachment in South Korea. In particular, dollar deposits increased by about $1.9 billion.

According to the ‘Trends in Foreign Currency Deposits for Residents in January 2025’ released by the Bank of Korea on the 24th, foreign currency deposits for residents at foreign exchange banks last month increased by USD 2.14 billion, centered on corporate deposits, to USD 103.44 billion(KRW 147.60888 trillion).

Looking at the currency, dollar deposits increased by 1.88 billion dollars(KRW 2 trillion 682.76 billion) compared to the end of the previous month. Normally, when the won-dollar exchange rate rises, dollar deposits decrease due to capital gains, but this is due to companies securing dollars as spare funds due to increased uncertainty.

The Bank of Korea explained, “Dollar deposits increased as export and import companies secured reserve funds in response to increased domestic and international uncertainty.”

Yen deposits and euro deposits increased by $110 million(KRW 156.97 billion) and $80 million(KRW 114.16 billion), respectively. Yen deposits increased slightly due to an increase in the dollar-equivalent amount of yen deposit balances caused by the appreciation of the yen.

By entity, corporate deposits increased by $2.08 billion(KRW 2,967,744 million), totaling $89.2 billion(KRW 127,270,560 million). This is the highest in two years since January 2023, when it recorded $79.57 billion(KRW 113,546,390 million). The share of corporate deposits among total dollar deposits was 87%, the highest in 8 years and 11 months since February 2016(87.3%).

Personal deposits increased by $600 billion(KRW 856.2 trillion) from the previous month to $14.24 billion(KRW 20.32048 trillion).

By Soon-ki Lee(s8789@nspna.com) and Soo-in Kang(sink606@nspna.com)

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