The Bank of Korea recently engaged in discussions with the government before deciding to withhold the international ranking of its foreign exchange reserves.
According to a report by Yonhap News on September 30, the Bank of Korea's International Department discussed the removal of the foreign exchange reserves ranking from its press release on foreign exchange reserves at the end of August with the Ministry of Economy and Finance. However, no formal meeting was held.
On September 3, the Bank of Korea announced that it had excluded the country-by-country foreign exchange reserves ranking from its monthly report without any explanation. This marks the first time in 25 years and six months that the Bank has not presented the ranking since it began providing related data in February 2001.
While the foreign exchange reserves themselves increased significantly, South Korea's international ranking has dropped sharply this year, raising questions about the decision to remove the ranking. South Korea's foreign exchange reserves ranking fell from 9th place at the end of December last year to 10th at the end of January, 12th at the end of February, and 13th at the end of May, a decline of four positions in just five months.
This decline is notably steep compared to the previous five years, during which South Korea consistently ranked between 8th and 9th in the world. The rise in the won-dollar exchange rate to its highest level since the financial crisis has led authorities to utilize foreign reserves to stabilize the market, which is cited as a reason for the drop in ranking.
However, as of the end of June this year, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves ranking had rebounded to 10th place. The ranking for the end of July has not been disclosed, but it is reported to have remained at a similar level to the previous month.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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