South Korea’s National Assembly voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday, which intensified the nation’s political uncertainty and tanked the national currency. The move comes after Yoon’s controversial attempt to impose martial law in early December, which opposition leaders condemned as a threat to democratic order.
According to the Financial Times, opposition leader Lee Jae-Myung successfully rallied lawmakers to support the impeachment, framing it as essential to restoring stability in the wake of Yoon’s failed martial law declaration.
The impeachment motion passed decisively, with a 204-85 vote in the 300-seat National Assembly. Opposition parties hold a legislative majority and needed only minimal support from Yoon’s conservative People Power Party (PPP) to meet the required two-thirds threshold.
Breaking news: South Korea’s parliament has voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol https://t.co/ecKAn0zyhM pic.twitter.com/2lSL5kFQHM
— Financial Times (@FT) December 14, 2024
Following the parliamentary vote, Yoon’s presidential duties were immediately suspended. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, a Yoon appointee and veteran bureaucrat, will serve as interim leader. The Constitutional Court must now determine the impeachment’s validity, with a verdict expected within 180 days. Although the timeline is not binding, the court’s decision will determine whether Yoon is permanently removed from office or reinstated.
Crypto market reactions and economic concerns
Today’s vote rattled financial markets, weakening the South Korean won. The currency slipped 0.31% against the U.S. dollar, plummeting after the USDKRW rate climbed to 1,435.51 on Friday. Market analysts have attributed the fall to heightened political instability
Meanwhile, Ripple XRP in South Korea’s markets saw a small price uptick, going up by 1.35% to trade for 3,495 won in the last 24 hours, according to the exchange’s data.
Despite the political instability scares, XRP has performed exponentially. The coin has garnered a 258% price increase over the last 30 days and a 321% year-to-date return.
Recent updates also show that trading volumes on Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, have declined by about 14% in the last day to a monthly low of $4,841,140.
The won’s decline aligns with broader economic challenges. According to statistics from Trading Economics, Import prices in South Korea rose 3% year-on-year in November, reversing two months of declines. Export prices surged 7%, extending their growth streak to 11 months. These figures highlight persistent inflationary pressures, even as economic sentiment weakens.
South Korea’s finance ministry pledged to implement additional measures to stabilize markets if volatility increases. Meanwhile, analysts expect the Bank of Korea to cut interest rates by 25 basis points in January, with further reductions anticipated through 2025.
Projections suggest the benchmark rate could drop to 2%, reflecting efforts to counter political and economic headwinds
South Koreans “okay” with President’s impeachment
Yoon, a former prosecutor and first-term president, had narrowly survived an earlier impeachment motion last Saturday when PPP lawmakers boycotted the vote. However, mounting dissent within his party and public backlash over the martial law attempt ultimately undermined his position.
Despite initial resistance, cracks appeared within the PPP. Party leader Han Dong-hoon advised members to vote “based on their own conviction and conscience,” signaling a shift in the party’s stance. The turning point reportedly came after Yoon’s combative speech on Thursday, in which he lashed out at critics and vowed to “fight to the end.”
Thousands of protesters gathered in Seoul on Saturday, enduring frigid temperatures to demand President Yoon’s resignation, as lawmakers passed a vote with 204 in favor and 85 opposed.
Outside the National Assembly, where the protests had transformed into celebrations after the vote, one demonstrator, Lim Dong Eon, told CNN, “He certainly waged war on the citizens, and this outcome is what he deserved.”
Another protester succinctly expressed their sentiment to CNN, saying, “Democracy is back!”
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