South Korea’s Emergency Martial Law Hits Crypto Market

North Korea South Korea

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Hongji Feng

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Hongji Feng

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Hongji is a crypto and tech reporter. He graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a Bachelor's and a Master's. He has previously interned at HTX (Huobi Global),...

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December 3, 2024

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South Korea declared emergency martial law late Tuesday local time, with President Yoon Suk Yeol citing threats from “pro-North Korean anti-state forces” in a televised address.

According to a Tuesday report from Reuters, Yoon described the move as essential to preserving the nation’s constitutional order, sparking swift reactions across South Korea’s political system and financial markets, particularly in cryptocurrency trading.

South Korea Under Emergency Martial law

“I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order,” Yoon stated during his late-night address.

The declaration has triggered immediate reactions in South Korea’s crypto market.

Arkham Intelligence reported a marked increase in trading activity, with large inflows of USDT (Tether) observed on the Upbit exchange.

Within an hour of Yoon’s announcement, over 163 million USDT flowed into the platform, signaling significant market repositioning by investors anticipating volatility.

Bitcoin prices on Upbit also showed sharp movements, with the platform listing a temporary negative premium.

Prices fell to a low of $71,814.99 before rebounding to $96,347, reflecting the tense and reactive trading environment.

National Assembly Challenges Martial Law Declaration

The emergency declaration has not gone unchallenged. Ki Young Ju, CEO of the analytics firm CryptoQuant, expressed his concerns on social media.

“The South Korean president has just declared martial law,” he posted. “All media and publications must now be officially censored by the martial law authorities. We all need to take refuge in X.”

Shortly after the announcement, South Korea’s National Assembly held a late-night session and passed a resolution calling for the immediate repeal of martial law.

Under the country’s martial law act, the president is required to comply with such a resolution and lift the order “without delay.” However, Yoon’s compliance remains closely watched as tensions continue to escalate.