Foreign Exchange Reserves Surpass $430 Billion... Highest Level in Three Years and Three Months

Bank of Korea: "Foreign Exchange Reserves at End of November 2025"
Higher Investment Returns + Increase in Foreign Currency Deposits at Financial Institutions

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves have increased for six consecutive months, surpassing 430 billion dollars. This is the highest level since August 2022. The growth is attributed to higher investment income and an increase in foreign currency deposits held by financial institutions.

An employee is holding up US dollars at the Counterfeit Response Center of KEB Hana Bank in Myeongdong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News.

According to the Bank of Korea on December 3, as of the end of last month, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves stood at 430.66 billion dollars, up by 1.84 billion dollars from the previous month's 428.82 billion dollars. This marks the highest level in three years and three months since August 2022, when reserves totaled 436.43 billion dollars. The increase was influenced by higher investment income and a rise in foreign currency deposits at financial institutions.

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves steadily increased until the second half of 2021, peaking at 469.2 billion dollars at the end of October 2021. However, they began to decline due to the US Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes that started in earnest in 2022. From February to May this year, reserves fell below 410 billion dollars, but have since risen for six consecutive months, now exceeding 430 billion dollars.

Among the components of the foreign exchange reserves in November, securities-including government bonds, corporate bonds, and government agency bonds-increased by 1.39 billion dollars from the previous month, reaching 379.35 billion dollars. Securities accounted for 88.1% of the total reserves. Deposits rose by 490 million dollars to 26.43 billion dollars, representing 6.1% of the total. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) amounted to 15.74 billion dollars (3.7%), gold stood at 4.79 billion dollars (1.1%), and the IMF position was 4.35 billion dollars (1.0%).

Meanwhile, as of the end of October, South Korea ranked ninth in the world in terms of foreign exchange reserve holdings. Among the top ten countries, Switzerland (3rd), India (5th), Taiwan (6th), and Saudi Arabia (8th) saw their reserves decline by 3.1 billion dollars, 10.4 billion dollars, 2.7 billion dollars, and 8.0 billion dollars, respectively.