SpaceX IPO-related dollar demand eases pressure on South Korean won

The surge in demand, which caught local markets off guard, stemmed from domestic institutions and retail investors scrambling for pre-IPO allocations in Elon Musk’s aerospace giant. While the company is seeking to raise $75 billion, investor interest has reportedly reached $250 billion. This disproportionate appetite for dollar-denominated assets exposed the relative shallowness of the local spot market, where daily turnover sits at approximately $14 billion.

Despite a robust $28.3 billion current-account surplus in April, the won struggled significantly, falling roughly 5% against the dollar this year. The currency’s sensitivity to the SpaceX-related outflows prompted a rare regulatory response: the Bank of Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service have announced joint inspections of major FX banks to investigate potential rate manipulation. With the bulk of the dollar conversions now settled, analysts expect the downward pressure on the won to dissipate ahead of the official pricing scheduled for Thursday.