The South Korean won climbed to its strongest level in nearly two years Monday, buoyed by a rally in semiconductor stocks and continued foreign inflows into the country's benchmark equity index.

The won gained as much as 1.3% to 1,334.70 per dollar, its highest since October 2024. Its relative strength index reached the highest since 2013, highlighting the velocity of the currency's advance.

The stock rally was driven by chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc., while foreign investors purchased over a net 800 billion won ($598 million) of Korean stocks on the Kospi Index, marking a third consecutive session of inflows, according to exchange data.

Continued demand for Korean assets may provide further support for the currency, though the pace of gains may prove difficult to maintain. "The Korea won strength, at around 6% year to date, also looks increasingly stretched and could encourage domestic asset managers to unwind foreign-asset hedges or prompt renewed retail outbound equity investment," Geoffrey Yu, a senior strategist at Bank of New York Mellon, wrote in a note.