A television screen shows a news broadcast of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol giving a speech on martial law, in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, on December 3, 2024.
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images
South Korea won on Tuesday cut losses against the US dollar after President Yoon Suk Yeol lifted the country’s first martial law in more than four decades.
The greenback was last seen 0.7% higher against the won. It had traded up as much as 2.7% earlier in the day.
Yoon’s announcement to end martial law came after parliament quickly voted against the declaration. the country’s currency for a notch less fresh two years against US dollars after Yoon’s initial decision that the state will move on the law, which refers to the temporary imposition of military authority over the civilian population, usually during a time of emergency.
Yoon has accused opposition lawmakers of controlling parliament and throwing the country into a political crisis. The move, which has not been taken in Asia’s fourth-largest economy since 1980, was sharply criticized by opposition lawmakers.
US Dollar / Korean Won foreign currency exchange rate.
Yoon’s conservative People’s Power Party has been deadlocked in negotiations with the liberal opposition Democratic Party over the 2025 budget bill.
The 63-year-old took office in May 2022 shortly after winning the presidential election by the narrowest margin in the country’s history. His foreign policy has been dominated by a tough stance on North Korea, while Yoon has also sought to strengthen ties with the US and Japan.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that scores of people had gathered in front of the country’s National Assembly in the early hours of the morning local time.
Exchange-traded funds and shares of Korea-based companies listed in the United States did not react to the news, before performing a recovery after the country’s parliament voted to lift martial law.
At MSCI South Korea ETF last seen trading off by 2.7%, after falling as much as 6.5% earlier in the session.
Meanwhile, Share from Mussels and Posco Holdings were off around 4.4%, while KT Corp and KB Financial fell 1% and 2.4% respectively.
A man holds a South Korean flag outside the National Assembly in Seoul on December 4, 2024, after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on December 3 declared martial law, saying the measure was necessary to protect the country from “communist forces” amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill.
Anthony Wallace Afp | Getty Images
South Korea’s military commander, Army General Park Ahn-soo, said earlier that several measures would be taken starting at 11 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) “to safeguard liberal democracy and protect people’s security from anti-state forces that threaten to overthrow them.” Republic of Korea.”
Park said that all political activities and any actions that oppose or seek to overthrow the liberal democratic system will be banned.
All media and publications will be subject to the control of the Martial Law Command and strikes and “assembly disturbing the social order” will also be prohibited.
Park said media professionals should return to work within 48 hours and measures would be taken to ease the inconvenience for ordinary citizens, “except for anti-state forces and those trying to overthrow the system.”
