Lawmakers shoved past police and soldiers to reach the chamber of South Korea’s National Assembly in the dark hours after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. Inside, parliamentary staff barricaded the doors against troops. Then the vote came: “Of the 190 present, 190 in favor,” Speaker Woo Won-shik announced, and the resolution demanding an end to martial law passed.
It had lasted only hours. Yoon’s order took effect at 11 p.m. local time on Tuesday. By early Wednesday he was back on television, saying the military had been pulled out. “We will accept the National Assembly’s request and lift the martial law through the cabinet meeting,” he said.
What the decree said
Yoon announced it in a late-night address, saying he acted to shield the country from “North Korea’s communist forces” and to root out anti-state elements. He called the opposition-controlled Assembly “a den of legislative dictatorship” and said it had cut budgets for fighting drug crime and keeping the public safe.
The martial law document made six core points. Political activity of every kind was banned, from parliament and local councils to street demonstrations. Media and publications fell under the martial law command. Strikes were prohibited, and doctors who had walked off the job were ordered back to work. People who broke the rules could be searched, arrested and detained without a warrant.
Within moments of the address, police gathered outside the Assembly in Seoul. Helicopters landed on the roof, and special forces troops were reported inside. Thousands of protesters filled the streets calling for Yoon’s arrest. Aides sprayed fire extinguishers at soldiers in the corridors.
Reaction at home and abroad
The constitution says martial law must be lifted once a majority in parliament demands it, which is what the 190 votes did. The military initially said it would keep the martial law command in place until the president himself lifted it. Protesters outside cheered the announcement of the vote, chanting “We won!”
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, called the move “illegal and unconstitutional.” Han Dong-hoon, who leads Yoon’s own People Power Party, called it “wrong” and promised to “stop it with the people.”
Washington said it had not been notified in advance. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell expressed “grave concern,” and a White House spokesman later said the US was “relieved President Yoon has reversed course.” About 30,000 US troops are stationed in South Korea. The Korean won fell sharply against the dollar.
Yoon took office in 2022 and has struggled with low approval ratings and a parliament controlled by the Democratic Party, which cut his budget plans last week. Natalia Slavney, a research analyst at the Stimson Center’s 38 North website, called the declaration “a serious backslide of democracy in South Korea.”
Impeachment follows
Opposition politicians began impeachment proceedings against Yoon the same day, the BBC reported. Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who also faced impeachment, offered his resignation after apologising and taking full responsibility. On 14 December the Assembly impeached Yoon, with 204 of its 300 members voting in favor.
Sources
- South Korea ends martial law after parliamentary rejection
- Chaos in South Korea as president declares MARTIAL LAW
- President Yoon Suk Yeol faces impeachment vote after martial law backlash
- Impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol
