A screengrab from secondhand trading platform Joonggonara shows commemorative watches for President Yoon Suk Yeol selling at around 200,000 won ($137). (Joonggonara)
A screengrab from secondhand trading platform Joonggonara shows commemorative watches for President Yoon Suk Yeol selling at around 200,000 won ($137). (Joonggonara)

Memorabilia related to impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, which had seen a collapse in price in light of his ongoing criminal investigation and impeachment trial, was seen on Friday selling again on online platforms at prices rebounding to those seen before the scandals of the last two months.

Several online platforms for trading in used items were found to have "Yoon Suk Yeol watches" registered on the market. Such commemorative watches are created for each president, and are usually given out as gifts for related events, but are occasionally sold by the presidential office.

The market price for the watches, which officially cost 60,000 won ($41), has fluctuated amid the political turmoil and Yoon's criminal investigation following his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law last year. The usual premium for the somewhat rare watches evaporated in the immediate aftermath, as they sold at around 50,000 to 60,000 won.

But a number of recent sales have been observed at around 200,000 won, similar to the price before the ongoing scandal engulfing Yoon and his administration. Secondhand platform Joonggonara showed that Yoon watches have sold for between 170,000 won and 204,000 won in recent days, while another platform saw a gold-plated edition listed for sale at 350,000 won.

It is unclear why the Yoon watches are apparently being sought out again, but it is possibly related to his supporters in the conservative bloc rallying behind the ruling People Power Party in recent weeks.

A Gallup Korea poll announced Friday showed that the ruling party's support surpassed that of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, 39 percent to 36 percent, for the first time since the fourth week of August last year. The polls by the same agency following Yoon's contentious martial law had seen support for the Democratic Party double that of the People Power Party, 48 percent to 24 percent, in the third week of December.

Major pollsters in the country have not surveyed the approval rating for Yoon since the National Assembly passed a motion for his impeachment on Dec. 14, while minor polls -- mostly commissioned by right-leaning media platforms -- have been challenged as biased. Regardless of the support for Yoon himself, it appears that the president’s party at least has gained back much of its usual support.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com