The KOSPI, the country’s stock market, finished 1.4% lower and the Korean won was little changed against the dollar.

Political instability in South Korea has caused the nation's won to plunge in value and has shaken confidence in the nation's stock market.

South Korea's retail crypto trading volumes spiked to $18 billion, outpacing stock market growth. XRP, Dogecoin, Stellar, ENS, and HBAR saw major trading volume surges in South Korea. Ripple's XRP hit a yearly high of $2.80, surpassing Solana and Tether in market cap.

South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.9% to 2,451.64. Shares of Samsung Electronics, the country's biggest company, fell 1.1%. Meanwhile, the country’s financial regulator said they were prepared to deploy 10 trillion won ($7.07 billion) into a stock market stabilization fund at any time, the Yonhap news agency reported.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been touting a so-called corporate value-up plan to tackle the nation’s notoriously depressed stock market this year. After briefly declaring martial law late Tuesday, he can kiss that initiative goodbye.

South Korean stocks fell and the won weakened at the open on Monday as traders braced for a period of sustained volatility due to a deepening political crisis.

South Korean stocks tumbled Monday as the country was racked with political uncertainty after President Yoon Suk Yeol escaped impeachment following his brief imposition of martial law last week.

Political instability in South Korea deepens as President Yoon Suk Yeol faces a travel ban, raising concerns about governance and leadership.