According to Jin10, South Korean central bank voting member Hwang Kunil said the won’s recent volatility requires close monitoring, with its appreciation pace slightly faster than expected. He said exchange-rate volatility and the speed of its movements matter more than specific levels, and that downward pressure on the exchange rate remains after accounting for the large current-account surplus and foreign investors’ rebalancing. Hwang, a former vice minister of South Korea’s Ministry of Strategy and Finance and a former World Bank executive director, said the won’s recent appreciation was driven by a surge in dollar inflows linked to global investment in AI infrastructure, which boosted demand for specialized memory chips from South Korea’s leading chipmakers, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics. He said the export-dependent economy is benefiting from a surge in demand for AI chips but remains cautious about exchange-rate movements.