Foreign exchange authorities issued a verbal warning Wednesday as the Korean won continued to depreciate against the U.S. dollar, prompting the local currency to strengthen sharply against the greenback.

Kim Jae‑hwan, deputy director general of the international finance bureau at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Yoon Kyung‑soo, director of international affairs at the Bank of Korea, said in a joint message that excessive weakness in the won was “undesirable.”

The message, released shortly after the foreign exchange market opened, noted that officials had held a series of meetings over the past two weeks and announced measures to address currency volatility.

They said it would soon become clear that the government intends to demonstrate strong resolve and the capacity to carry out comprehensive policy actions.

The strongly-worded message prompted the Korean won to strengthen by 33-point-eight won, trading at one-thousand-449-point-eight won as of the 3:30 p.m. spot trading, marking the sharpest boost in three years and one month.

The verbal intervention was the first in about a month, following a similar warning on November 14.

After trading began Wednesday, the won–dollar rate initially rose one‑point‑three won from the previous session to one‑thousand‑484‑point‑nine won.

However, the rate fell sharply after the authorities’ remarks and moved into the one‑thousand‑460‑won range.