A television screen shows a news broadcasting of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivering a speech on emergency martial law, in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, on December 3, 2024.
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images
South Korea’s won on Tuesday cut losses against the U.S. dollar after the country’s parliament swiftly passed a resolution to demand the lifting of martial law.
The vote comes less than three hours after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law, which prompted the country’s currency to notch a fresh two-year low against the U.S. dollar.
The greenback was last seen 1.2% higher against the won, having traded up as much as 2.7% earlier in the day.
South Korea’s Yoon had accused opposition lawmakers of controlling the parliament and throwing the country into a political crisis.
“I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order,” Yoon said, according to a Reuters translation.
The move, which hasn’t been imposed in Asia’s fourth-largest economy since 1980, was sharply criticized by opposition lawmakers.
Martial law refers to the temporary imposition of military authority over a civilian population, typically during a time of emergency.
U.S. dollar/Korean won foreign exchange spot rate.
Yoon’s conservative People Power Party and has been deadlocked in negotiations with the liberal opposition Democratic Party over the 2025 budget bill.
The 63-year-old assumed 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 hard-line stance on North Korea, while Yoon has also sought to strengthen ties with the U.S. 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 U.S.-listed shares of Korean-based firms tumbled on the news, before staging a recovery after the country’s parliament voted to lift martial law.
The MSCI South Korea ETF was last seen trading off by 2.7%, after falling as much as 6.5% earlier in the session.
Meanwhile, shares of Coupang and Posco Holdings were both off around 4.4%, while KT Corp. and KB Financial slipped 1% and 2.4%, respectively.
A man holds the South Korea flag outside the National Assembly in Seoul on December 4, 2024, after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol on December 3 declared emergency martial law, saying the step was necessary to protect the country from “communist forces” amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill.
Anthony Wallace | Afp | Getty Images
South Korea’s martial law commander, Army Gen. Park Ahn-soo, said earlier that several measures were to come into force from 11 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) “to safeguard liberal democracy and protect the safety of the people against anti-state forces threatening to overthrow the Republic of Korea.”
Park said all political activities and any act that denies or seeks to overthrow the liberal democratic system would be prohibited.
All media and publications will be subject to the control of the Martial Law Command and strikes and “gatherings that incite social order” were also said to be forbidden.
Park said medial professionals would need to return to work within 48 hours and measures would be implemented to minimize inconvenience for ordinary citizens, “except for anti-state forces and those attempting to overthrow the system.”