STORY: South Korean stocks took a fresh hit Monday reacting to the country's deepening political turmoil.

Over the weekend, President Yoon Suk Yeol survived a bid to impeach him over last week's short-lived declaration of martial law.

But media reports say he has been named by prosecutors as the subject of a criminal investigation over the incident.

And Yoon's own party - which boycotted the impeachment vote - says he will be excluded from his duties and pressed to step down.

The country's benchmark Kospi stock index was down over 2% by early afternoon amid the chaos.

Blue chip names were among those to take a hit, with Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor both down around 1%.

On currency markets, the Korean won traded broadly flat versus the dollar, having endured sharp falls during last week's drama.

Over the weekend, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said the government was ready to act in the market.

He said maintaining credibility was the priority, and vowed to work with the country's central bank to calm any volatility.

Even so, tensions remain high, with uncertainty over Yoon's fate, and his grip on power.

On Monday, the defense ministry said he was still commander in chief, and thus head of the armed forces.

But multiple military officials - and the acting defense minister - all said they would refuse to obey any new order to impose martial law.