24-hour trading begins in Seoul foreign exchange market... Expansion of won trading base

Data base date: July 6, 2026

The Seoul foreign exchange market switched to a 24-hour trading system from July 6. On the first day of opening, the Bank of Korea inspected the trading site during the early morning hours and listened to the opinions of market participants, including domestic banks, overseas branches, and export companies.

Expansion of trading hours expands the base for overseas investors and companies to trade the won according to the business hours of each region. Import/export companies have the advantage of having an extended time window to manage exchange rate risk, but they also face the challenge of managing night-time liquidity and operational personnel.

Opening 24 hours a day does not mean that exchange rate volatility will be immediately lowered. The extent of market participation, transaction volume, and risk management system must be stabilized for the effects of institutional change to appear.

Data source: Notice on 24-hour opening of the Bank of Korea's foreign exchange market