South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol lifted his martial law declaration after lawmakers rejected the move following Yoon’s vow to eliminate “anti-state” forces in a serious challenge to the country’s Parliament, which he accused of sympathizing with North Korea.
The Tuesday night declaration was vocally opposed by the speaker of Parliament and even the leader of Yoon’s own party, Han Dong-hoon, who has clashed with the president over his handling of recent scandals, Reuters reported.
Shortly after Yoon made his announcement, people began gathering outside the Parliament building, some of them shouting: “Withdraw emergency martial law!” while scuffling with troops. Under South Korean law, the president must lift martial law if the Parliament demands it with a majority vote.
All 190 lawmakers who participated in the vote supported the lifting of martial law. Television footage showed soldiers who had been stationed at Parliament leaving the site after the vote.
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was monitoring the situation and that U.S. forces were in close contact with their South Korean counterparts.
“The U.S. government writ large is in contact with the Republic of Korea,” Ryder told reporters.
Ryder was not aware of any changes to any force posture for the 28,500 U.S. service members stationed in the country.
In an unannounced address broadcast live late at night on YTN, Yoon said he had no choice but to take drastic measures to protect South Korean freedoms and the constitutional order. He said opposition parties have taken the parliamentary process hostage and thrown the country into crisis.
“I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order,” he said.
He added that martial law would help “rebuild and protect” the country from “falling into the depths of national ruin.”
Yoon’s’s surprising move hearkened back to an authoritarian era not seen since the 1980s.
The liberal Democratic Party has controlled South Korea’s single-chamber National Assembly since Yoon, a former top prosecutor, took office in 2022. Those in the opposition have repeatedly thwarted Yoon’s agenda and the president has had low approval ratings.