Foreign reserves stood at $443.16 billion at the end of October, up $2.60 billion from $440.56 billion a month earlier and reversing September's $1.72 billion decline, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The figure was the highest since May 2022, when reserves stood at $447.71 billion.
The BOK attributed the increase mainly to investment returns on foreign-currency assets and higher foreign-currency deposits from financial institutions.
By asset type, deposits jumped $6.32 billion to $36.27 billion, more than offsetting a $3.59 billion decline in securities holdings to $382.43 billion.
Securities remained the largest component of reserves, accounting for 86.3 percent of the total, while deposits made up 8.2 percent.
The increase came despite a stronger U.S. dollar, which can reduce the dollar value of reserve assets denominated in other currencies.
The dollar index rose 0.7 percent during October on a Korea-time basis.
The euro weakened 1.3 percent against the dollar and the Japanese yen slipped 0.2 percent, while the British pound strengthened 1.2 percent, according to separate BOK reference data.
Special Drawing Rights, an international reserve asset created by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), declined $70 million to $15.41 billion.
Korea's reserve position at the IMF fell $50 million to $4.25 billion, while gold holdings remained unchanged at $4.79 billion.
Reserves have increased $15.11 billion since the end of 2025, although they remain below their record of $469.21 billion reached in October 2021.
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