Jeju Air stock hits a record low after plane crash
Benard /Andia/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
- Jeju Air shares hit record low after a deadly plane crash in South Korea.
- The crash occurred amid political turmoil with three presidents in a month in South Korea.
- Political uncertainty has increased market volatility in South Korea.
Shares of South Korean budget carrier Jeju Air hit their lowest level on record following a plane crash over the weekend.
On Sunday, a Jeju Air plane traveling from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport crashed at a South Korean airport crashed, killing 179 people. It was carrying 181 passengers and crew members.
Jeju Air's stock slumped as much 16% and was 8% lower at 12:23 p.m. local time on Monday. The stock of AK Holdings, the airline's parent company, fell as much as 12%.
The decline in Jeju Air shares comes on the back of a choppy month in South Korea's stock market amid political uncertainty.
The country has been led by three presidents in a month following the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol and acting president Han Duck-soo. Deputy prime minister and finance minister Choi Sang-mok became the country's acting president on Friday.
The turmoil came after Yoon declared martial law — which lasted six hours — earlier this month. Han was impeached by the opposition after he refused to appoint three judges to fill the nine-member Constitutional Court, which will rule on Yoon's removal from office.
The political uncertainty could persist.
"If Choi Sang-Mok does not approve the three new justices for the Constitutional Court, it is likely that the Democratic Party will also try to impeach him," wrote independent analyst Douglas Kim, who publishes on the Smartkarma platform, on Saturday.
South Korea's benchmark Kospi index was up 0.4% at 12:23 p.m. local time. It is down about 9% year-to-date.
"Due to the high levels of political uncertainty, it appears that many participants are sitting on the sidelines, not wanting to commit too much on the Korean markets," added Kim, who expects trading in South Korea's markets to remain "highly volatile" in January.