South Korea's stock market, the KOSPI, is set to reopen at 9am Korean time on Wednesday, December 4 after a shock move by president Yoon Suk Yeol to declare martial law on Tuesday evening.
Parliament quickly met to vote down the measure amid mass protests around the parliamentary building in Seoul. The president, who had cited the dangers of enemies affiliated with North Koreans as one of the reasons for the declaration, then climbed down and rescinded the martial law measure.
The government's 2025 budget had been blocked by parliament by opposition leader Lee Jae-myung's Democratic Party. The Democratic Party has a majority in the National Assembly after an election earlier this year. The president has been in power since May 10, 2022 and is part of the People Power Party.
The move has led to regulators scrambing to reassure markets with the Bank of Korea's board set to meet local time at 9am on Wednesday. South Korea's Financial Services Commission said they would look to try and help stabilise the situation and regulators said that "unlimited" liquidity would be made available.
On Tuesday, the Korean won dropped as much as 2.9% against the US dollar amid the turmoil, and other countries in Asia are worried that the dramatic events in South Korea could hit other markets.
The situation has since stabilised with moves to impeach the president afoot as the main political parties hold emergency talks. There was a vote on impeachment on Saturday, December 7, however the motion failed adding to the turmoil.
