Currency traders work at Hana Bank's dealing room in Seoul, as the won weakened to 1,466 per US dollar at one point in Thursday's session. Yonhap

The Korean currency weakened to a 15-year record, Thursday, with the won surging past the 1,460 level against the U.S. dollar amid ongoing political uncertainties.

According to the foreign exchange market, the won opened at 1,452.2 against the dollar, down 1.8 won from the previous trading day. The rate then reversed, surging to 1,466 won — the highest level since March 16, 2009, during the global financial crisis. After some fluctuations, the rate eased slightly and closed at 1,464.8 won, up 7.8 won from the previous session.

Thursday marked the tenth consecutive session that the won weakened against the greenback. As the end of the year approaches, low trading volumes appear to have contributed to the increased volatility.

While the strong dollar is a global phenomenon, analysts attribute the sharp depreciation of the won to prolonged economic uncertainties following President Yook Suk Yeol's attempted imposition of martial law and subsequent impeachment.

"Contrary to expectations that the risk would be swiftly resolved following the Assembly's adoption of the impeachment motion, the increasing likelihood of a prolonged political standoff is adversely impacting the country's credit rating and foreign capital inflows," iM Securities researcher Park Sang-hyun said.

During the trading session, acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced that he would delay the appointment of Constitutional Court justices until the ruling and opposition parties reach an agreement. In response, the Democratic Party of Korea declared its intention to introduce an impeachment motion against the acting president and put it to a vote during a plenary session on Friday.

The challenges lie in the fact that multiple factors could weaken the won further, including the U.S. Federal Reserve's upward revision of next year's policy rate outlook and uncertainties surrounding the economic policies of Donald Trump.

"If uncertainties surrounding the impeachment continue to grow, the won-dollar exchange rate could reach the 1,500-won level sooner than expected," Park said.