Bessent cites volatility in Korean won while stressing stable yen's importance - The Korea Times

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to members of the media at the White House in Washington, D.C., Jul. 30. Reuters-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday the South Korean won has experienced "excess volatility," as he underscored the importance of a stable yen for the "entire region" following a recent intervention by the United States and Japan to boost the Japanese currency.

Bessent made the remarks in a CNBC interview after Washington and Tokyo jointly intervened in the foreign exchange market last week in a rare move to help address the yen's sharp fall against the greenback.

"I think a stable yen is not only important for the U.S., but it's very important for the entire region because if the yen were to weaken substantially, then the other currencies would follow it," he said in the interview.

"You know we'd seen excess volatility in the Korean won," he added.