Bitcoin

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in a live television announcement, likely contributing to the price of Bitcoin (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) against the won dropping roughly 30% on the local exchange Upbit.
According to data from Upbit on Dec. 3, the BTC/KRW pair dropped from roughly 130 million KRW to 93.6 million KRW immediately following the president’s announcement — a dip of 28% before the price returned to more than 126 million KRW. Yoon <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=croDm2jrcPk" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">said</a> he was declaring martial law in response to “threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces” and to “eliminate anti-state elements.”
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 BTC/KRW activity on South Korea-based crypto exchange Upbit. Source: Upbit
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“This is an unavoidable measure to ensure the freedom and safety of the people and guarantee the sustainability of the nation against the unrest stirred by these subversive, anti-state elements,” said Yoon.
The South Korean president cited attempts by the country’s Democratic Party to impeach government officials. Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsoX2NDwsow" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">said</a> in a livestream on Dec. 3 that the parliament would attempt to strike down Yoon’s order but expressed concern that the military would arrest members.
<h2 id="lawmakers-immediately-voted-to-block-yoon-s-decree">Lawmakers immediately voted to block Yoon’s decree</h2>
Amid the president’s announcement, South Korean citizens gathered outside government buildings, facing off against members of the military. CNN <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/martial-law-south-korea-intl#cm48lrj00000x3b6m3e2iviej" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">reported</a> shortly after Yoon’s address that 190 lawmakers out of 300 in South Korea’s national assembly voted to block the martial law decree.&nbsp;
“The President should immediately lift the emergency martial law following the voting by the National Assembly,” said National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik. “Now, the emergency martial law declaration is invalid.”
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/upbit-kyc-violations-license-renewal-south-korea" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">South Korea probes Upbit for 600K KYC violations</a>
As the world’s 13th-largest economy, South Korea is home to several companies that could be affected by political instability in the country, including Samsung and SK Group. In addition to Upbit, South Korea is the headquarters for cryptocurrency exchanges Bithumb, Korbit, and Coinone.
Lawmakers in South Korea’s Democratic Party had initially proposed taxing crypto capital gains tax starting in 2025 but <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/south-korea-crypto-tax-delay-two-years-kdp" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">announced on Dec. 1</a> that it was delaying the plan by two years.
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/unique-amazing-south-koreas-cryptoverse/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">South Korea’s unique and amazing crypto universe</a>

BTC/KRW pair dipped 30% as South Korea’s president declared martial law

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