SEOUL
\nAfter South Korea\u2019s president and his replacement were both deposed over a failed bid to impose martial law, deepening political turmoil is threatening the country\u2019s currency and shaking confidence in its economy. The won, which plunged Friday to its lowest level against the dollar since 2009, has been in near-constant decline since President Yoon Suk Yeol\u2019s attempt to scrap civilian rule in early December.
\nBusiness and consumer confidence in Asia\u2019s fourth-largest economy have also taken their biggest hit since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to figures released by the Bank of Korea. Lawmakers impeached Yoon in mid-December on charges of insurrection, and on Friday they impeached his successor, acting president and prime minister Han Duck-soo, arguing that he refused demands to complete Yoon\u2019s removal from office and bring him to justice. That thrust Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok into the additional roles of acting president and prime minister.
\nChoi has pledged to do all he can to end \u201cthis period of turmoil\u201d and resolve the political crisis gripping the country.
\nAt the heart of the stalemate is the Constitutional Court, which will decide whether to uphold parliament\u2019s decision to impeach Yoon.
\nIt must do so by a two-thirds majority, however. And because three of the court\u2019s nine seats are currently vacant, a unanimous vote is required to confirm the suspended president\u2019s removal. Otherwise, Yoon will be automatically returned to office. Lawmakers on Thursday nominated three judges to fill the vacant seats, but acting president Han refused to approve them, precipitating his own impeachment.
\nAfter an acrimonious day in which lawmakers from Yoon\u2019s party erupted in protest, the country\u2019s newest acting president sought to project calm.
\n\u201cAlthough we are facing unexpected challenges once again, we are confident that our robust and resilient economic system will ensure rapid stabilisation,\u201d Choi said Friday.
\nThe 61-year-old career civil servant has inherited a 2025 budget — adopted by the opposition alone — which is 4.1 trillion won ($2.8 billion) less than the government had hoped for.
\n\u201cThere are already signs the crisis is having an impact on the economy,\u201d Gareth Leather of Capital Economics wrote in a note to clients, citing the dip in consumer and business confidence. \u201cThe crisis is unfolding against a backdrop of a struggling economy,\u201d he added, with GDP growth expected to be just two percent this year, weighed down by a global slowdown in demand for semiconductors.
\n\u201cLonger term, political polarisation and resulting uncertainty could hold back investment in Korea,\u201d Leather wrote, citing the example of Thailand, another ultra-polarised country whose economy has stagnated since a coup in 2014.
\nBut other economists noted that the South Korean economy has so far weathered the chaos well. As early as December 4, the day after Yoon declared martial law following a budget tussle with the opposition, the central bank promised to inject sufficient liquidity to stabilise the markets, and the Kospi Index has lost less than four percent since the start of the crisis.
\n\u201cLike everyone, I was surprised when Yoon took those crazy measures,\u201d Park Sang-in, a professor of economics at Seoul National University, told AFP. \u201cBut there was a resilience of democracy.\u201d \u201cWe come from being an underdeveloped country to one of the world\u2019s most dynamic economies in very few years, and Yoon Suk Yeol is a side effect of the growth,\u201d he added. \u201cKorean society was mature enough to counter his crazy actions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SEOUL After South Korea\u2019s president and his replacement were both deposed over a failed bid to impose martial law, deepening political turmoil is threatening the country\u2019s currency and shaking confidence in its economy. The won, which plunged Friday to its lowest level against the dollar since 2009, has been in near-constant decline since President Yoon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-452432","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n