Foreigners Demanding "Martial Law Hazard Pay"... "Receive Salary in Won, Suffer Losses Due to Value Decline"

Italy, Germany, and India Natives Gather to Share Martial Law Reactions

Italian broadcaster Alberto, German-born Daniel, and Indian-born Lucky shared the reactions of various countries to President Yoon Suk-yeol's 'December 3 Emergency Martial Law Situation.' In particular, Alberto reported that foreign company branch managers stationed in Korea requested their headquarters to add hazard pay.

Lucky from India, Daniel from Germany, broadcaster Alberto from Italy. Screenshot from YouTube channel 354Samosa

They discussed the December 3 Emergency Martial Law Situation on the YouTube channel ‘354 Sam-O-Sa,’ which was released on the 24th, under the title ‘Video, maybe... your country too!? Korea's Emergency Martial Law Situation from a Foreigner's Perspective.’

Alberto said, “Right after the emergency martial law situation, I went to a friend's daughter's birthday party on the weekend, and all 11 dads who came were branch managers of large corporations.” He claimed, “They all contacted their headquarters the day after the emergency martial law situation to request contract modifications. They demanded the addition of national hazard pay conditions. Branch managers from companies in the US, UK, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, and others expressed to their companies that ‘if these conditions are not met, we cannot stay in Korea.’”

“Since the branch managers are foreigners who do not know any Korean, they couldn’t grasp the situation well, so (their fear seemed even greater),” he said. “Although I explained that it was not such a dangerous situation, the atmosphere was like ‘what if something dangerous happens?’ Also, while working in Korea, they receive their salaries in Korean won, but due to the depreciation of the won, they suffered economic losses and even expressed that receiving money in won was disadvantageous,” he added.

Daniel conveyed that German media reported Korea’s declaration of emergency martial law as ‘not a sign of democracy,’ and concluded by saying, “(This incident) seems to have given a lesson that we must not lose interest in politics.”

Immediately after the martial law declaration, the won-dollar exchange rate surged to around 1,446 won. Considering that the exchange rate had remained in the high 1,300 won range until November, this means it jumped about 3% instantly due to the martial law declaration. Since then, due to domestic and international uncertainties, it has fluctuated around 1,450 won. Given that Korea’s real GDP last year was 1,996 trillion won, if the won-dollar exchange rate, which surged due to the martial law, remains high for a considerable period, it is estimated that an annual GDP loss close to 6 trillion won could occur. Moreover, some countries, including the UK, have designated Korea as a ‘travel risk country,’ making it inevitable that the tourism and cultural industries will also suffer damage.