Bank of Korea board member flags faster-than-expected won moves, eyes inflation path

A voting member of the Bank of Korea's board said the recent pace of the won's moves has been faster than expected and warrants close monitoring of volatility rather than level, according to a Reuters interview. "The pace of the recent move has been somewhat faster than expected," Hwang Kunil said, adding that downward pressure on the exchange rate remains valid once the current account surplus and foreign investment rebalancing are adjusted. The won gained about 13% against the dollar in the third quarter, its sharpest rise since the fourth quarter of 1998, driven by dollar inflows from the global AI buildout and demand for memory chips from SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics. The BOK held rates at 3.00% this month after back-to-back hikes in July and August. Hwang, viewed as one of the board's most dovish members, projected headline inflation would approach the 2.0% target toward the end of the first half of 2027 and be fully stabilized by end-2027 or early 2028. He flagged uneven growth, with private consumption recovering slowly and smaller firms facing rising delinquency rates.