Korea’s demand for the U.S. dollar has been growing sharply across the board, pushing the value of the local currency to its lowest level since 1998, the height of the Asian financial crisis, according to economists and market analysts Tuesday. This trend will likely continue, and in a worst-case scenario the exchange rate could fall past 1,500 won per dollar in the coming days, far past the 1,380-won level analysts consider desirable for Asia’s fourth-largest economy. “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 to an imbalance between supply and demand, while economic fundamentals are far better off than they were during the Asian financial crisis.” Experts noted that the won has weakened despite Korea’s foreign currency rese