The Bank of Korea's headquarters in central Seoul is seen in this undated file photo. Yonhap

Korea's central bank said Wednesday it will ease regulations on the inflow of foreign currency to allow export companies to secure foreign currency loans for domestic facility investments.

The latest measure aims to resolve imbalances in the foreign exchange market and curb pressures on the weakening won, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said. The local currency has faced mounting pressure amid domestic political turmoil and global trade uncertainties.

Previously, foreign currency loans had been limited to overseas purposes in principle, with exceptions for small and medium-sized manufacturers. Companies could only use foreign currency funds for overseas investments or the purchase of foreign goods.

With the new measure, however, export companies can now obtain foreign currency loans for domestic facility investments, on the condition that the loan amount does not exceed their export performance over the past year or their estimated performance for the current year, the BOK said.

The latest measures are part of a package of policy actions announced by the government in December to ease regulations governing the inflow of foreign currency. (Yonhap)