U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s rare intervention in Korea’s foreign exchange market comes as the two countries recognize the need to jointly address the rapid depreciation of the Korean won, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday. The rare verbal intervention reflects the importance of the Korean won’s stability for bilateral economic cooperation, including Korea’s planned $20 billion annual investment in the U.S. as agreed to in tariff negotiations last year, Deputy Minister for International Economic Affairs Choi Ji-young said. His remark came after Bessent addressed the won’s depreciation in a social media post and a readout posted by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In a rare intervention by a top U.S. economic policymaker, Bessent noted that the won’s depreciation “was not in line with Korea’s strong economic fundamentals.” According to the readout, the secretary also “emphasized that excess volatility in the foreign exchange market is undesirable, and reaffirmed that Korea’s strong economic performance, especially in key indu