Resident foreign currency deposits at domestic foreign exchange banks stretched $15.01 billion from June to an all-time high of $128.34 billion at the end of July, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Friday. The increase was the largest in seven months and the second biggest on record.
Dollar deposits accounted for most of the increase, soaring $11.12 billion to a record $108.92 billion and well above $95.93 billion at the end of 2025. The bulk of the increase came from deposits held by corporate names, adding $13.57 billion to $112.56 billion.
The BOK attributed the dollar increase to large companies receiving foreign-currency payments, inflows of foreign bond issuance proceeds and customer deposits at securities firms, as well as investors buying dollars in advance after the won strengthened sharply.
The won appreciated to 1,424.0 per dollar at the end of July from 1,549.4 at the end of June, according to the release.
The spike in July also coincided with one of the largest corporate dollar inflows Korea has ever seen.
SK hynix raised $26.51 billion through its Nasdaq American depositary receipt offering, equivalent to nearly 40 trillion won at the time.
The transaction closed July 14, with the chipmaker saying the proceeds would fund domestic investment including its Yongin semiconductor cluster, a new advanced-packaging plant in Cheongju and chipmaking equipment.
The ADR proceeds were closely watched in Seoul's foreign exchange market because much of the dollar funding was ultimately expected to be brought into Korea and converted into won.
The dollar has gone down to 1,420 won by the end of July from 1,549.4 won a month earlier and traded at 1,376.20 Friday.
AJP Takeaways
- Korea's resident foreign currency deposits hit a record $128.34 billion in July, jumping $15.01 billion in one month.
- Dollar deposits surged by a record $11.12 billion as the won strengthened sharply and corporate foreign-currency inflows increased.
- The surge coincided with SK hynix's $26.5 billion Nasdaq ADR offering, highlighting how Korea's AI chip boom is increasingly influencing domestic foreign exchange flows, although the BOK did not directly link the two.
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