In an alarming turn, the Korean won's value has dropped nearly 10 percent since the beginning of the year — a whopping 9 percent drop against the U.S. dollar and a 13 percent fall against the Japanese yen. That's the steepest plunge among currencies of the Group of 20 economies except Argentina. The government tried to appease deepening concerns in the markets, pointing to “our $403 billion in foreign currency reserves and strong economic fundamentals.” Yet that failed to instill confidence as seen in people's stampede to deposit their money in dollars and buy gold, which reflects growing expectations for a further tumble in the won in the near future.
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