South Korea Financial News

Kim Yong-hyun over his alleged role in President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law on Tuesday, Yonhap News Agency said. Yoon survived an impeachment vote in parliament on Saturday, prompted by his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, but the leader of his own party said he will be effectively excluded from his duties before eventually stepping down. Ruling Party leader Han Dong-hoon plans to meet with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Sunday morning.

President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, citing threats from North Korea and accusing the National Assembly of obstructing government functions. This marked the first such declaration since 1980. Though rescinded within six hours, the move shocked the nation and drew widespread condemnation, both domestically and internationally. The streets surrounding the National Assembly in Seoul became the epicentre of dissent, with an estimated 150,000 protesters demanding Yoon’s impeachment. Banners with messages like «Impeach Yoon» and «Insurrection Criminal» were held high, while chants of «South Korea is a democratic republic» reverberated through the crowd. The protests, which included families with young children and groups singing protest songs, carried a festival-like atmosphere but turned sombre as parliament debated Yoon’s political fate. Protester Jo Ah-gyeong, a 30-year-old Seoul resident, expressed resolve: “I’m neither discouraged nor disappointed because we’ll get it eventually. I’ll keep coming here until we do.”

Shin Jae-hyung was a teenager, he was out in the streets being teargassed, fighting against South Korea's then-military dictator Park Chung-hee. He never thought he would have to do it again in 2024. But when he heard the country's current president, Yoon Suk Yeol, had declared martial law this week — the first time democratic South Korea had experienced it in 40 years — he raced to the National Assembly thinking: «We must stop this.» «I thought we must define this as an act of insurrection,» the 66-year-old told AFP at his home in northern Seoul.

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Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is expected to be the next major flagship from the South Korean tech giant. The brand is likely to launch the device alongside the standard Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus in January next year. Ahead of the launch, we already know several details about the Galaxy S25 Ultra, including its design, specifications, and more, providing enough information to fuel speculation.

The offering is entirely an offer for sale by the promoter, LG Electronics Inc., which plans to sell 101.8 million shares, or 15% of the equity capital.

Data reveals a clear preference among these women for Western partners. In South Korea, 28% of international marriages in 2023 involved American men, followed by 18% with Chinese men. Marriages to men from other Western countries, including France, Italy, Germany, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, accounted for approximately 17%. A similar trend appears in Japan, where American men were the top choice among foreign grooms for Japanese women. Japanese men seeking foreign brides, however, primarily choose women from China and the Philippines.

Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Tuesday night, plunging the country into its worst crisis in decades, his stunned finance minister knew his priorities: throw everything at defending the currency. By around 11 p.m., Choi Sang-mok, who was among the majority of cabinet members who opposed martial law, had set up an emergency meeting at the Seoul Bankers Club, an unofficial meeting place for top policymakers from the central bank, finance ministry and banking and markets regulators. As soldiers stormed the nation's parliament, Korea's top four financial authorities, known as F4, activated an emergency playbook that had been used during past crises, scrambling to head off a crippling selloff in the won before Asian markets awoke. Choi led discussions between the authorities, three people familiar with the meeting told Reuters, with the Bank of Korea responsible for efforts to stabilise the currency.

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President Yoon Suk Yeol faces an impeachment vote this Saturday after briefly imposing martial law in South Korea. AFP looks at how the dramatic events of the past few days unfolded in a country where democracy had been assumed to be firmly anchored — and what might happen next.

euro rose marginally against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, but came off session highs, after a widely expected collapse of the French government following a no-confidence vote by opposition lawmakers. The greenback, on the other hand, was little changed overall, as the December interest rate cut chances remained on track amid signs that the American economy was slowing.

cash reserve ratio (CRR) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) later in the week. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex gained 110.58 points or 0.14% to settle at 80,956.33, while the broader Nifty 50 index closed at 24,467.45, higher by 10.30 points or 0.04%.

Gold prices were steady on Wednesday as safe-haven demand countered a slight recovery in the U.S. dollar while markets await U.S. jobs data and comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for clues on the U.S. central bank's policy outlook, as per a Reuters report. Spot gold was steady at $2,644.48 an ounce by 1100 (GMT). U.S. gold futures were down 0.1 per cent at $2,666.30, Reuters reported. The dollar index reflected strength that makes dollar-priced bullion costlier for buyers with other currencies.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. SEOUL—A day after declaring martial law, South Korea’s president is now facing the prospect of impeachment, creating more political instability for a close U.S. ally.

Asian markets are mostly lower after overnight political drama in South Korea added to regional uncertainties

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«Korea has been a very weak market this year. It is down about 19% in dollar terms within the EM index and so this is just more pain for the Korean market and we will have to see how the politics plays out,» says Geoff Dennis, Independent EM Commentator. This morning we have woken up to those kind of news coming in from South Korea wherein, of course, there was that Martian law that was put on, then it was taken off. Now, there is news of impeachment, a lot going on as far as the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Central Bank in South Korea is concerned. But it begs the question whether India is one of those safe havens of sort where there is political stability, where there is economic stability, while even countries like, of course, China, South Korea, West Asia, and all of that are going through their own turmoil. Does that make India stand out as one of the best opportunities right now? Geoff Dennis: Oh, yes, it does.

Ajay Bagga, Market Expert, says he is expecting cryptos and gold to go up. There will be a flight to safety. Both the yen and the dollar will get bought into. In US treasuries, one can expect the yields to go down. Today we saw French yields reaching the Greece yield levels. We are seeing China borrowing at cheaper rates than Japan. We are expecting the Bank of Japan to come in and raise rates at its next meeting in the next fortnight. Following the political developments in South Korea and martial laws being put in place and then revoked, the Samsung stock is under heavy selling pressure. How do you expect global investors to react in the short term? Could this spark a broader risk aversion in emerging markets? Ajay Bagga: The Korean exchange has said they will function as normal. The party leader of the president has opposed this on a Facebook post and the defence minister has called for the military. So, we really do not know what is happening right now. It actually came out of the blue. There have been political wranglings on the budget and this is a minority government which would not survive a floor test. So, overall, it is a very big surprise and I am sure the allies of South Korea from Japan to Europe are working on the back channels to see how this situation can be diffused. It is not a dictatorial country. It is a very strong democracy standing up to its communist neighbours. So, it is very critical that democracy is protected.

Sensex and Nifty50, traded higher on Wednesday for the fourth consecutive session, supported by gains in index heavyweights HDFC Bank, ITC, and L&T, ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's interest rate decision later in the week. As of 9:50 am, the BSE Sensex was up by 317 points, or 0.39%, at 81,162.75, while the Nifty50 gained 96.15 points, or 0.39%, trading at 24,550.

Malia Obama who is the eldest daughter of former US President Barack Obama is eventually making strides in the entertainment industry. According to She Knows, pretty recently, she directed her debut short film named The Heart which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival's Short Film Program in the year 2024. Adding onto that, she also served as a staff writer for the hit series Swarm while using the stage name ‘Malia Ann’. She Knows reported that in a notable addition to her growing resume, Malia Obama directed a music video for Michael Kiwanuka's single ‘One And Only’ which released on November 26. The video which actually features a woman pursuing her doppelganger through the woods has garnered attention for its moody aesthetic and storytelling.

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