It's been another dramatic day in South Korea.

Live from the UK, this is the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service.

I'm Gideon Long in for Leanna Byrne.

Good morning.

Security guards protecting the South Korean president

are preventing police from entering the presidential office

to investigate last week's imposition of martial law.

President Yun Suk Yul has refused to step down, despite an impeachment vote,

and multiple calls for him to go.

So what might this political instability mean for the economy?

Han Ku Yio is a former South Korean trade minister

and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International

Economics. He's been speaking to the BBC's Rahul Tandon. I think this protracted political turmoil

is beginning to affect the economy. As you mentioned, the consumption seems to be weakening.

Inbound travel is being affected. Some of those travels are being canceled,

and also social gathering, dinner parties, etc., are being canceled. And also, it seriously is affecting

investor confidence. So many businesses cannot really make investment decision under this

current political uncertainty.

Do you see an end to this political instability in South Korea in the next few weeks?

So could this drag on for even longer?

I think that this is a very difficult situation.

The most important thing is to really reflect the will of Korean people and, you know, bring

...