South Korea's finance minister said Wednesday the government will deploy all possible measures to stabilize financial markets if necessary, after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in a national emergency speech.
“We will mobilize all possible measures to stabilize financial markets and foreign exchange markets, including unlimited liquidity injections,” Choi Sang-mok said during an emergency meeting with top economic officials in Seoul.
The Korean won fell to 1,430 per dollar, its lowest level since October 2022, while falling sharply against the yen, to its lowest level since May 2023, 961.89 per 100 yen, a drop of 2.5%.
South Korea's parliament, with 190 of its 300 members present, passed a motion Wednesday calling for the lifting of martial law declared by President Yoon Suk Yeol, live television showed.
Last week, the opposition Democratic Party cut 4.1 trillion won from the total budget proposal of 677.4 trillion won ($470.7 billion) submitted by Yoon's government, placing Parliament in an impasse over control of the 2025 annual budget.
On Monday, the speaker of parliament blocked the revised budget from going to a final vote for the time being.
But successful opposition intervention on the budget would deal a major blow to Yoon's minority government and risk cutting tax spending at a time when export growth is slowing.
The finance ministry said it would convene another emergency meeting of senior officials at 7 a.m. local time (1930 GMT).
“These events will leave a huge mark on investor confidence in the economy and its financial markets,” Capital Economics said in a report.
