On December 9, 2024, South Korean stocks experienced a significant decline of 2.8% amid escalating political instability. This downturn follows President Yoon Suk Yeol's narrow escape from impeachment, which was briefly interrupted by a declaration of martial law. The ruling People Power Party's near-total boycott of the impeachment vote led to its failure, while the main opposition party has announced plans to retry the impeachment process [c64fb009]. Compounding the political turmoil, the defense minister was arrested, and the interior minister resigned, both under investigation for alleged insurrection [c64fb009]. As a result, the South Korean won weakened to 1,437 per dollar, down from 1,413 [c64fb009].
In contrast to South Korea's struggles, other Asian markets displayed mixed results. While stocks in Tokyo, Taipei, and Jakarta rose, markets in Manila, Bangkok, Wellington, and Singapore fell [c64fb009]. Wall Street reached record highs, with attention now shifting to the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy meeting [c64fb009].
Market analysts are closely monitoring the implications of Yoon's political challenges on South Korea's economic policies and international trade, especially with the potential for shifts under the anticipated return of Donald Trump to the White House [c64fb009]. Concerns are mounting over South Korea's economy amid the backdrop of potential trade tensions [c64fb009].
Despite the political unrest, property markets across Asia have shown resilience. Nicholas Spiro from the South China Morning Post noted that while concerns arose from President Yoon's attempted coup on December 3, 2024, which was quickly repudiated, the overall impact on property markets has been minimal. S&P Global Ratings described the coup as unexpected for a country with a strong credit rating [2e407d2d].
Bank of Korea governor Rhee Chang-yong emphasized that risks from trade wars are more pressing than the political fallout, indicating a focus on economic stability [2e407d2d]. Seoul's office market remains robust, and despite the political unrest, property prices in Hong Kong peaked in August 2021, even amidst the 2019 protests [2e407d2d].
India's residential market continues to thrive post-election losses, while Japan's commercial real estate market remains attractive to foreign investors [2e407d2d]. In China, the housing market crisis is largely attributed to government deleveraging policies, contrasting with Singapore's HDB resale flats, which have seen prices rise for 18 consecutive quarters, with over 1,000 sales expected to exceed S$1 million in 2024 [2e407d2d].