Korea’s demand for the U.S. dollar has been growing sharply across the board, pushing down the value of the local currency to its lowest level since 1998 during the Asian financial crisis, according to economists and market analysts, Tuesday. This trend will likely continue, and in a worst-case scenario, the local currency could fall past 1,500 won per dollar in the coming days, compared with the 1,380 won level analysts consider desirable for Asia’s fourth-largest economy. Regarding the financial authorities’ efforts to stabilize the foreign exchange market, experts said the policy direction is on the right track but it will take time to have an impact, possibly not until early 2026. “Dollar demand is unusually high across a range of market participants, and this is driving the won down to levels last seen during the Asian financial crisis, even though Korea’s economy is not under strain,” said Shin Se-don, professor emeritus of economics at Sookmyung Women’s University. Moon Jung-hiu, a KB Kookmin Bank economist, echoed that view, saying “The won is unusually weak due t