Korean won hits 17-year low on foreign outflow

The Korean won weakened sharply Friday, hitting its lowest level since the 2009 global financial crisis as sustained foreign outflows from the benchmark Kospi weighed on the currency.

The won was quoted at 1,529 per dollar at the start of onshore trading Friday.

It soon weakened past the 1,540 mark after the opening bell, weakening to as low as 1,549.1 per dollar and briefly flirting with the 1,550 threshold.

The currency was trading at 1,544.7 per dollar as of noon.

It marked the first time the ...