South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s surprise declaration of martial law and his almost-as-swift reversal of course triggered political whiplash across the country and around the globe. It had a similar effect on markets, as one might guess, at one point sending US Treasury yields lower as traders scrambled for a haven. So what happened exactly? In an emergency address delivered live to the nation, Yoon assumed extraordinary powers while accusing his political opposition of trying to paralyze his administration and putting the constitutional order at risk. The abrupt decision, and its almost-instantaneous rejection by lawmakers, came after months of deadlock in parliament between his minority government and the main opposition Democratic Party. The DP has been trying to force its own budget proposal through parliament, and had submitted an impeachment motion against the chief prosecutor after months of trying to get Yoon’s wife prosecuted. Yoon meanwhile invoked the specter of pro-North Korean forces allegedly intent on destabilizing the country as part of his justification for martial law. But perhaps as fast as South Koreans expressed their outrage over the power grab, the financial world rendered its verdict on the maneuver—and it was a thumbs down. “We shouldn’t be fooled,” said Defense Priorities Fellow Daniel DePetris. “This has nothing at all to do with North Korea and all to do with domestic politics.” Here’s the latest on how the crisis is affecting markets. —David E. Rovella

What You Need to Know Today

Which countries would you imagine are most likely to impose martial law? Some of the more memorable in Asia have included Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines. South Korea—a vibrant, firmly established democracy and strong US ally—joined that list for a few short hours on Tuesday, Karishma Vaswani writes in Bloomberg Opinion. Yoon Suk Yeol’s shocking declaration Tuesday night risks endangering the success that decades of deeply entrenched democracy has achieved. And while it may end up having been a cynical act of political survival, it can also be viewed as another victory for the authoritarians in Beijing and Pyongyang.

Yoon Suk Yeol Photographer: Manuel Orbegozo/Bloomberg

US Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly said an interest-rate cut this month isn’t certain—but remains on the table. Not a lot of help for Wall Street handicappers, but the comments do put her roughly in line with several other policymakers who’ve held forth this week. The consensus appears to be that the central bank will continue cutting interest rates over the next year, but maybe not right away. Donald Trump’s election and his plans for the economy—namely massive tariffs seen by economists as hurting consumers and boosting unemployment—have thrown sand in the Fed’s gears when it comes to the soft landing, and whether the central bank’s war on inflation will heat up again.

But for now, all signs point to that soft landing. US job openings picked up in October while terminations eased, potentially suggesting demand forworkers is stabilizing. The overall uptick followed months of steep declines—including a big drop in September. The levels of dismissals decreased to the lowest since June, while people quitting picked up to the highest since May, likely indicating workers are more confident in their ability to find a new job. While companies like Boeing, General Motors and Cargill have either recently cut jobs or announced plans to do so, there are few signs of a broad pickup in layoffs.

As Trump and authors of Project 2025 plan to fire thousands of government employees and shutter regulatory agencies, the Biden administration is looking to trip them up. It’s agreed to lock in hybrid work protections for tens of thousands of Social Security staff, part of a slew of organized labor efforts in the waning days of Biden’s presidency. The American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing 42,000 Social Security Administration workers, reached an agreement with the agency last week that will protect telework until 2029 in an updated contract, according to a message to its members viewed by Bloomberg.

After denying he knew much about Project 2025, Donald Trump tapped Russ Vought to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought is one of the authors of the far-right manifesto and a member of Trump’s first administration. Photographer: Bloomberg

The plans for the “Department of Government Efficiency” laid out by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are riddled with legal problems, from constitutional flaws to looming conflicts of interest, Noah Feldman writes in Bloomberg Opinion. The promises to roll back existing federal regulations by executive fiat, then fire the civil servants who administer the rules, grossly misrepresent how the regulatory process and civil service protections work under federal statutes, Feldman writes, adding that even a Republican-appointee controlled US Supreme Court will balk.

David Ellison is said to plan sweeping changes at Paramount Global, including cuts at the company’s TV networks, billions of dollars more for streaming and an overhaul of top management. Ellison, who will take over as chief executive of Paramount when it merges with his Skydance Media next year, is exploring combining all of Paramount’s TV networks, including CBS and MTV, into one unit. Those businesses are mostly run by two of the company’s co-CEOs, Chris McCarthy and George Cheeks. While Cheeks is expected to stay, McCarthy’s future is less certain.

What You’ll Need to Know Tomorrow