The United States has kept South Korea on its list of countries to monitor for their foreign exchange policies.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department's semiannual report to Congress on Thursday, South Korea remains on the updated list along with China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland.

South Korea was first added to the list in April 2016, removed in November 2023 and then reinstated by the Trump administration in November 2024.

U.S. trading partners are placed on the list if they meet at least two of the three criteria set by the U.S. Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, including a trade surplus with the U.S. of at least 15 billion U.S. dollars and a current account surplus of at least three percent of gross domestic product.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Treasury is closely monitoring whether U.S. trading partners are using foreign-exchange intervention and nonmarket policies and practices to manipulate their currencies to gain an unfair trade advantage.

Bessent added that, in support of President Donald Trump’s "America First" trade policy, the Treasury is strengthening its analysis of trading partners’ currency policies to inform its assessments.