South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in a live television announcement, likely contributing to the price of Bitcoin BTC$95,989 against the won dropping roughly 30% on the local exchange Upbit.
According to data from Upbit on Dec. 3, the BTC/KRW pair dropped from roughly 130 million KRW to 93.6 million KRW immediately following the president’s announcement — a dip of 28% before the price returned to more than 126 million KRW. Yoon said he was declaring martial law in response to “threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces” and to “eliminate anti-state elements.”
“This is an unavoidable measure to ensure the freedom and safety of the people and guarantee the sustainability of the nation against the unrest stirred by these subversive, anti-state elements,” said Yoon.
The South Korean president cited attempts by the country’s Democratic Party to impeach government officials. Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung said in a livestream on Dec. 3 that the parliament would attempt to strike down Yoon’s order but expressed concern that the military would arrest members.
Lawmakers immediately voted to block Yoon’s decree
Amid the president’s announcement, South Korean citizens gathered outside government buildings, facing off against members of the military. CNN reported shortly after Yoon’s address that 190 lawmakers out of 300 in South Korea’s national assembly voted to block the martial law decree.
“The President should immediately lift the emergency martial law following the voting by the National Assembly,” said National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik. “Now, the emergency martial law declaration is invalid.”
Related: South Korea probes Upbit for 600K KYC violations
As the world’s 13th-largest economy, South Korea is home to several companies that could be affected by political instability in the country, including Samsung and SK Group. In addition to Upbit, South Korea is the headquarters for cryptocurrency exchanges Bithumb, Korbit, and Coinone.
Lawmakers in South Korea’s Democratic Party had initially proposed taxing crypto capital gains tax starting in 2025 but announced on Dec. 1 that it was delaying the plan by two years.
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