SEOUL ¨C South Korea¡¯s efforts to stabilize its currency face a major obstacle at home ¡ª the record appetite of its retail investors for U.S. stocks that is fueling dollar demand as the won languishes at 17-year lows.
The greenback¡¯s persistent strength against the won over the past year has complicated Seoul¡¯s plans to invest $350 billion in U.S. industries under a trade deal with Washington, amid concerns additional outflows could weaken the won further.
Those pressures have only been worsened by an army of Korean retail investors, nicknamed ¡°ants,¡± who are snubbing Seoul¡¯s efforts to ?keep money at home and doubling down on their U.S. stock investments.
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