According to South Korea's "Asia Daily" reported on the 11th, after the "12.3 Emergency Martial Law" incident, the prices of souvenirs related to South Korean President Yin Xiyue also plummeted. According to a report by the Korea Daily on the 11th, the production cost of the South Korean presidential commemorative watch is 40,000 to 50,000 won (10,000 won is about 50 yuan), but on websites such as second-hand trading websites, the transaction price is sometimes as high as hundreds of thousands of won. Yoon Seok-yue's commemorative watch was also traded for 250,000 won in 2022, when he took office, and there were many buyers who wanted to buy it for 200,000 won.
Since then, the price of Yin Xiyue's commemorative watch has gradually begun to decline, and it dropped to about 100,000 won at the beginning of this year. Although the price of each watch is different, as of October and November, the majority of items for sale were around 100,000 won.
After Yin Xiyue announced emergency martial law on December 3, many people were eager to sell "hot potatoes." Within a week after December 3, a total of 12 sellers listed watches for sale, and their prices dropped sharply to less than 100,000 won. Even unused watches were sold at low prices. According to news from the Korean circulation industry on the 11th, the "Classic" model of Yoon Seok-yue's commemorative watch listed on the Korean second-hand trading website was sold for 80,000 won on December 7, and another green "Sports" model was sold for 60,000 won on December 5.
A netizen who received Yoon Seok-yue's commemorative watch when participating in an Army Day event left a message online saying that the watch could be sold for 200,000 won two months ago, but now the price is less than 100,000 won.
The current second-hand price of Yoon Seok-yue's commemorative watch is not only lower than that of former presidents Moon Jae-in (180,000 won) and Park Geun-hye (90,000 won), but even lower than former presidents Chun Doo-hwan (84,000 won) and Roh Tae-woo (120,000 won) who were charged with "civil strife".
According to reports, South Korea’s earliest manufacturing of presidential watches began during the period of former President Park Chung-hee. Since then, successive presidents have successively made commemorative watches, forming a tradition. Although the production unit price is set low, because of its scarcity and symbolic significance, the second-hand price generally exceeds the original price.
South Korean presidents usually have a tradition of giving gift sets to people from all walks of life during holidays. However, the prospect of Yin Xiyue's impeachment is currently unclear, and the gift-giving plan of the presidential office is also unclear. During the 2024 Lunar New Year, the gift set given by the presidential office consists of traditional wine, yuzu jam, preserved meat, etc., and the price on second-hand websites ranges from 100,000 won to 200,000 won.