South Korean Military Alert Causes Won to Weaken

According to data compiled by Investing.com, the exchange rate of the United States dollar (USD) against the South Korean won reached KRW 1,413.70 in trading that was still ongoing on Wednesday evening (December 4, 2024).

This value is down 0.05% from the closing trade on Tuesday (December 3, 2024), which was 1,414.47.

In the ongoing trade, the won briefly touched a low of 1,406.8. It is currently trading in the range of 1,412-1,413.

The weakening of the won is a response to the imposition of martial law by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. According to Katadata, he cited anti-state forces and threats from North Korea as the reason behind the decision when announcing it via a late-night TV broadcast.

Opposition parliament members rushed to the parliament building to pass an emergency vote to revoke the action. After losing the vote, Yoon appeared a few hours later to accept the parliament's voice and lifted the martial law order early Wednesday morning (December 4, 2024).

(Read also: [South Korea's Economic Growth After the 1979 Martial Law](https://databoks.katadata.co.id/ekonomi-makro/statistik/675047becf2ee/pertumbuhan-ekonomi-korea-selatan-setelah-darurat-militer-1979))

Although it lasted only about six hours, the martial law status created turmoil.

According to a Reuters report cited by Katadata, at one point, the won fell 2% and was poised for its biggest one-day loss since November 9, 2016, the day after the 2016 US election that brought Donald Trump to power and began the countdown to a looming trade war with China.

This reinforces the won's status as the worst-performing major Asian currency against the dollar this year. The won has weakened against the US dollar by almost 10%. The Kospi benchmark index is also one of the worst-performing stock indices in Asia this year, down almost 6% year-to-date as of Tuesday (December 4). At today's market opening, the Kospi fell by as much as 2%.

(Read Katadata: [South Korea's Stock Market and Won Plunge After Martial Law Uproar](https://katadata.co.id/berita/internasional/674fb4a331072/bursa-saham-korsel-dan-won-jeblok-usai-kisruh-status-darurat-militer))