South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law this afternoon, accusing the opposition of wanting to paralyze the administration. This announcement caused a shock on the markets, in particular a brutal fall of Bitcoin against the South Korean won. For its part, the Democratic Party is calling for rapid action to end this measure.
South Korea declares martial law
This afternoon, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial lawaccusing the opposition of trying to paralyze the ruling administration. Concretely, it is currently prohibited to strike in South Korea, political activities have been stopped, and the media are under the control of the government in place.
At the same time, authority was provisionally transferred to the military authorities. Let us emphasize that this is a far from trivial event for South Korea, its last martial law having been declared in 1980during the Gwangju uprising, a pro-democracy revolt brutally suppressed.
€20 offered when you register on Bitvavo
According to the president, martial law has no impact on the country's foreign policy. It would aim to protect the constitutional order and follows months of wrangling between the government and the country's Democratic Party, which is currently trying to pass its own budget proposal through Parliament. According to Bloomberg, President Yoon Suk-yeol has repeatedly vetoed bills adopted by Parliament in recent months.
This announcement was not without consequences for the country's crypto exchanges, notably Upbit and Bithumb. On Upbit, the BTC/KRW pair experienced a sudden drop equivalent to a move from $96,000 to $63,000. Similar declines were observed on other cryptos, notably Ether, USDT which temporarily depeged, and Ripple's XRP.
The XRP/KRW pair would also account for almost 30% of the volume processed on Upbit in the last 24 hours, with more than 7 billion dollars exchanged.
🏦 Find our selection of the best platforms for buying crypto
Fall of the BTC/KRW pair on Upbit
According to journalist Wu Blockchain, South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges do not allow institutional market makers, which can cause this kind of movement on certain pairs during turbulent periods.
Cryptocurrency exchanges Upbit and Bithumb both released a statement indicating that latencies could be observed on their services, particularly on their mobile application, due to a significant increase in traffic.
The South Korean won fell significantly against the dollar, to a level it had not seen since September 2022:
South Korean won falls against the dollar (24 hours)
📰 In the news – XRP, ADA, XLM, FIL… Are we witnessing the great return of “dinocoins”, these cryptocurrencies from old cycles?
Around 1 a.m. (South Korean time), the 190 sitting members of the South Korean Parliament voted unanimously to end martial law. It remains to be seen whether the current president will comply and what the army intends to do.
Former President Moon Jae-in, whom he succeeded, issued a statement saying that “ democracy in South Korea is on the brink of collapse “. Current South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol took office on May 10, 2022, so his term will end in 2027.
Don't miss the bullrun, join our experts on Cryptoast Academy
Sources: Bloomberg, TradingView
The #1 Crypto Newsletter 🍞
Receive a summary of crypto news every day by email 👌
Some links in this article may be affiliated. This means that if you buy a product or register on a site from this article, our partner pays us a commission.
Investments in cryptocurrencies are risky. There is no guaranteed high return, a product with high return potential involves high risk. This risk-taking must be in line with your project, your investment horizon and your capacity to lose part of this savings. Do not invest if you are not prepared to lose all or part of your capital
As Editor-in-Chief of Cryptoast, I am committed to making the world of cryptocurrencies and Web3 accessible to everyone. An expert in identifying the most relevant news, I attach great importance to the quality of the articles produced by Cryptoast. I ensure that our readers benefit from reliable, verified information presented in a clear and easy-to-read manner. My goal is to share quality knowledge to better inform and educate our audience about this constantly evolving world.
Maximilien Prué
1307 items
