[Edaily Reporter Kim Kook Bae ] In August, foreign currency deposits held at domestic banks once again reached a record high. This was driven by a significant increase in corporate dollar deposits, fueled by semiconductor companies’ dollar-denominated export proceeds, as well as growing demand from companies looking to purchase dollars in advance to cover future payments when the exchange rate falls.

According to the “Trends in Resident Foreign Currency Deposits for August” released by the Bank of Korea on the 1st, the balance of resident foreign currency deposits at the end of August stood at $140.62 billion, an increase of $12.28 billion from the previous month. This surpassed the previous record set at the end of July—just one month later.

By currency, U.S. dollar deposits rose by $10.99 billion to a record high of $119.91 billion. Euro and yen deposits also increased by $1.1 billion and $320 million, respectively, compared to the previous month.

Analysts attribute the sharp rise in foreign currency deposits largely to an increase in corporate dollar deposits, particularly from semiconductor exporters such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. A Bank of Korea official explained, “We saw a significant inflow of dollar deposits, primarily from semiconductor exporters.”

In addition, the inflow of investor deposits into securities firms—driven by funds set aside for overseas stock investments—and the impact of preemptive dollar purchases in anticipation of a falling exchange rate also contributed to the increase. Importers and other businesses purchased dollars in advance when the exchange rate fell to cover future payment obligations and deposited them into foreign currency accounts. The won-dollar exchange rate fell by 55.4 won, from 1,424 won at the end of July to 1,368.6 won at the end of August.

In fact, corporate dollar deposit balances reached a record high of $105.64 billion at the end of August, an increase of $9.96 billion from the previous month. This means that approximately 90.6% of the total increase in dollar deposits came from corporations. Individual dollar deposits also rose by $1.03 billion from the previous month to $14.27 billion.

By bank type, foreign currency deposits at domestic banks totaled $110.86 billion, up $8.47 billion, while those at foreign bank branches totaled $29.76 billion, up $3.81 billion.