(Bloomberg) -- South Korean authorities issued a rare warning to participants in the foreign-exchange market after the won briefly depreciated to the 1,400 mark against the dollar for the first time since late 2022. 

“Foreign exchange authorities are closely watching exchange rate movements, supply and demand dynamics in the foreign exchange market and other factors with special vigilance,” according to a joint text message from Shin Joong-beom, director general for the finance minstry’s international finance bureau and Oh Kum-hwa, director general of the Bank of Korea’s international department. 

“Excessive one-sided moves in the foreign exchange market are not desirable for the Korean economy,” the statement said.

The last time the finance ministry and central bank released a joint statement on the currency was in June 2022. The warning from the central bank and finance ministry came after the won reached the closely watched 1,400 level for the first time since November 2022. 

Like other currencies in Asia, the won had come under renewed pressure as the dollar continues to strengthen as investors push back their bets on the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates. China’s move to weaken its daily reference rate for the yuan added to the selling pressure. 

Authorities in other emerging markets are also stepping up support for their beleaguered currencies. Bank Indonesia stepped in to support the rupiah after the currency weakened past 16,000 per dollar for the first time in four years.

Read more: Dollar Bulldozes Its Way Through Asian Currencies Aided by Yuan

The won closed at 1,394.65 per dollar after the verbal intervention helped it pare some of the day’s losses. The Korean currency has shed 7.6% against the dollar so far this year, making it the worst performing unit in Asia after Japan’s yen.

South Korea is known to regularly step into the market to smooth movements in the currency’s exchange rate when volatility is high. In the last quarter of last year, authorities were net buyers of dollars, after nine straight quarters of buying the won to stem the pace of slides.

The won still remains off its 13-year low of 1,444.5 in October 2022.

--With assistance from Karl Lester M. Yap.

(Updates with Bank Indonesia intervention in sixth paragraph.)

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