Seoul: Seoul shares sank by almost 1.5 percent Wednesday amid political chaos as opposition parties moved to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over the declaration of martial law overnight before he reversed the decision hours later. The Korean won fell sharply against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 36.1 points, or 1.44 percent, to close at 2,464.00.

According to Yonhap News Agency, trade volume was heavy at 661.09 million shares worth 13.07 trillion won (US$9.26 billion), with losers outpacing winners 733 to 175. Foreign investors sold a net 409 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting institutions and individuals’ stock purchases valued at 357.52 billion won.

Late Tuesday, President Yoon declared martial law, accusing the main opposition Democratic Party of being “anti-state forces” paralyzing the nation’s operations with impeachment motions and a downsized budget bill. However, Yoon abandoned the martial law attempt, the country’s first such motion in over four
decades, early Wednesday after the National Assembly voted to overturn the declaration.

“The shock announcement overnight appears to have a limited impact on the local stock market as the martial law attempt was lifted (by the president) before the market’s opening,” Kim Byung-yeon, an analyst at NH Investment and Securities Co., said by phone. The finance ministry stated it would deploy “unlimited liquidity” into the financial markets, if necessary, to avoid any volatility, helping to relieve investor sentiment in the stock market.

There seems to be no upside momentum in the stock market for the time being as opposition parties submitted a motion to impeach President Yoon to the National Assembly earlier in the day, brokerages said. Most large-cap stocks declined, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics falling 0.93 percent to 53,100 won, leading home appliance maker LG Electronics shedding 1.91 percent to 87,300 won, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor down 2.56 percent to 209,000 won.

Leading battery make
r LG Energy Solution declined 2.02 percent to 389,000 won, and another battery firm, Samsung SDI, also dropped 0.77 percent to 259,000 won. Among gainers, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix rose 1.88 percent to 168,000 won, dominant tobacco company KT and G climbed 0.41 percent to 123,400 won, and Korea Zinc, the world’s largest refined zinc smelter, was up 8.37 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,410.1 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 7.2 won from the previous session. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 4.1 basis points to 2.626 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds added 3.4 basis points to 2.640 percent.