South Korean President declares emergency martial law, triggering declines in local crypto markets

Cryptocurrency prices plunged on Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, as the country’s president, Yoon Suk-yeol, declared an emergency martial law Tuesday night around 10:30 p.m. local time.

President Yoon announced in a televised address the emergency martial law was being enforced to “safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements,” according to CNN.

Martial law in South Korea refers to the imposition of direct military control over civilian government functions, typically in response to a significant threat to public order. According to local news outlet Hankyoreh, the last emergency martial law declaration in South Korea happened in 1980.

The declaration triggered a majority of cryptocurrencies to plunge on Upbit, Bithumb and Coinone, the country’s most widely used crypto exchanges. Bitcoin dropped around 12% on Upbit at one point, while Tether USDT once dropped to 1,200 Korean won, which is around 84 cents. Double-digit falls were also spotted in most altcoins, including Ripple XRP, Shiba Inu and Dogecoin.

The Upbit Market Index, which measures the performance of the exchange's top 30 market-cap tokens, fell 13.28% in the past day.

Upbit’s mobile trading app is currently inaccessible, likely due to a surge in traffic.