South Korea will pass the lifting of martial law! About three hours after South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue announced emergency martial law, the South Korean Assembly held a plenary meeting on the 4th and voted to pass a resolution calling for the lifting of emergency martial law. According to Yonhap News Agency, the resolution was unanimously passed by the 190 members present. The announcement from the National Assembly Speaker's Office stated: "With the passage of the resolution to lift martial law, the emergency martial law order has been declared invalid."
"Korea Broadcasting Corporation" (KBS) reported that South Korea Speaker Woo Won-shik said: "According to the resolution of the National Assembly, the president must immediately lift emergency martial law. The declaration of emergency martial law is now invalid." Woo Won-shik said, "Please (South Korea) Citizens can rest assured that the military and police stationed in the National Assembly are currently being asked to withdraw from the National Assembly immediately."
Back in the middle of the night on the 3rd, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue announced emergency martial law through live television, which aroused great global attention. Yoon Seok-yue said that the goal of martial law is to eradicate "pro-North Korea forces" and protect the free constitutional system, and emphasized that the series of anti-government behaviors in the National Assembly have reached a critical level. The declaration of martial law clearly prohibits political activities, controls the media, restricts strikes and gatherings, and grants the military special powers to search and arrest.
After the announcement of martial law, South Korea's major political parties fell into confrontation. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, criticized the martial law as unconstitutional and called on people to go to the National Assembly to express support. Some people in the ruling party also expressed opposition. The South Korean parliament is currently on high alert, and some members are even unable to enter the venue. In addition, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense launched a comprehensive emergency response and strengthened domestic alert.
However, Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law only lasted about 3 hours. According to Article 77, Paragraph 5 of South Korea's Constitution: "When more than half of the members of the National Assembly agree to request the lifting of martial law, the president must lift martial law." However, financial markets and global society have started a series of turmoil.
South Korea will lift the law with the hammer! After Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law, how did the financial market change?
The declaration of martial law not only exacerbated South Korea's political crisis, but also brought more uncertainty to South Korea's already weak economy.
As soon as the news of martial law came out, the Korean won's exchange rate against the U.S. dollar fell to a two-year low, U.S. stock futures fell to intraday lows, and U.S. bond and gold prices rose in the short term; Asian stock markets also had a chain reaction, with Taiwan index futures and Nikkei 225 index futures in night trading diving. Rising risk aversion may put short-term pressure on Taiwan's export market.
Regarding the export of agricultural products, "Liberty Times" pointed out that South Korea is Taiwan's seventh largest agricultural export market, with an export value of US$160 million in 2024. The main export products include saury, squid, lettuce, pineapples and mangoes. However, due to the current production season of non-agricultural products and the lack of major changes in South Korea's import policy, the impact on Taiwan's agricultural exports is limited. In addition, the ports where some Taiwanese fishing boats unloaded cargo in South Korea were not significantly affected.
In the long run, martial law may exacerbate South Korea's economic weakness, especially in the context of dual pressures on exports and consumption. As a country highly dependent on foreign trade, South Korea's political instability may reduce Taiwan's export demand for electronic components and semiconductors to South Korea, while weakening bilateral stability of trade cooperation.
Martial law was lifted after 3 hours! South Korea's declaration of martial law, what impact will it have on Taiwan's industry?
The martial law incident in South Korea has triggered multiple chain effects in the international market, including significant fluctuations in safe-haven assets and pressure on neighboring markets.
For Taiwan, South Korea is an important economic and trade partner, and exports of electronic components and semiconductors account for a significant portion of Taiwan-South Korea trade. If martial law continues and market confidence further declines, it may have an indirect impact on Taiwan's high-tech industry.
In addition, Taiwanese companies need to pay attention to the risk of supply chain disruption that may be caused by South Korea's domestic policy changes, especially in the fields of electronic products and automotive components.
If martial law affects domestic production activities in South Korea, Taiwan may face new opportunities and challenges. For example, if the export strength of South Korean companies is hindered, Taiwan can gain more share in the global market, especially in the fields of memory and AI-related products.
The current martial law in South Korea highlights the high-pressure state of politics and economy, which will have a profound impact on the global market and regional cooperation. As an important economic and trade partner of South Korea, Taiwan should pay close attention to the development of the situation, and at the same time do a good job in risk management and market layout to reduce possible impacts and strive for new business opportunities. In this volatile situation, how to be flexible and quickly adjust strategies will become an important issue for Taiwan's industry.
South Korea has been under martial law for less than a day and then switched to the lifting of martial law. This may not be the end of this turmoil, but the starting point. How the political situation in South Korea will evolve remains to be seen over time as there are still variables in the future.
The full text of Announcement No. 1 issued by the South Korean Martial Law Command
In order to protect liberal democracies from the threat of overthrowing the Korean system by anti-state forces lurking within the borders of the free Republic of Korea, and to protect the safety of the people, the following is announced throughout the Republic of Korea starting from the 3rd: 00:00 on December 3, 2024.
- All political activities are prohibited, including the National Assembly, local councils, political parties, political associations, rallies and demonstrations.
- Any behavior that denies or attempts to overthrow the free democratic system is prohibited, as well as fake news, manipulation of public opinion and false propaganda.
- All media and publications are subject to martial law.
- Strikes, sabotage and gatherings that incite social disorder are prohibited.
- All medical staff, including residents, who go on strike or leave the medical field must return to their normal posts within 48 hours and work faithfully. Any illegal behavior will be punished in accordance with martial law.
- Good citizens, except for anti-state forces and other subversive forces, should take measures to minimize the inconvenience caused to daily life.
Anyone who violates the above proclamation may be arrested, detained, searched without a warrant, and seized in accordance with Article 9 of the Martial Law Act of the Republic of Korea (Special Measures Power of the Martial Law Commander), and shall be punished in accordance with Article 10.
Source: KBS, Yonhap News Agency, Yahoo, Liberty Times
