Troops were seen trying to enter the South Korean parliament on Tuesday (3 December) after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in a surprise late-night TV address that slammed domestic political opponents and sent shockwaves through the country.
Live television footage showed troops apparently tasked with imposing martial law attempting to enter the assembly building, and parliamentary aides were seen trying to push the soldiers back by spraying fire extinguishers.
Yoon said on Tuesday night that opposition parties had taken the parliamentary process hostage.
He vowed to eradicate “shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces” and said he had no choice but to take measures to safeguard constitutional order.
Shortly after Yoon made his announcement, people began gathering outside the parliament building, some of them shouting: “Withdraw emergency martial law!”
The military said activities by parliament and political parties would be banned and that media and publishers would be under the control of the martial law command.
Yoon did not cite any specific threat from the nuclear-armed North, instead focusing on his domestic political opponents. It is the first time since 1980 that martial law has been declared in South Korea. South Korea’s parliament, with 190 of its 300 members present, passed a motion on Wednesday requiring the martial law declared by President Yoon Suk Yeol to be lifted, live TV showed.
South Korea has had a series of authoritarian leaders early in its history but has been considered democratic since the 1980s.
The Korean won was down sharply against the U.S. dollar. A central bank official said it was preparing measures to stabilise the market if needed. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok has convened an emergency meeting among top economic officials, his spokesman said in a text message.
Yoon’s predecessor, Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party, said in a post on X that the country’s democracy is in crisis. “I hope that the National Assembly will act quickly to protect our democracy from crumbling,” he wrote in a post.
“I ask the people to join forces to protect and save democracy and to help the National Assembly function normally.”
The United States is in contact with the South Korean government and is monitoring the situation closely, a White House spokesperson said.
Some 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea to guard against the North. A spokesman for the US military command did not answer repeated phone calls.
Korean President reverses martial law
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Wednesday he would lift a surprise martial law declaration he had imposed just hours before, backing down in a standoff with parliament, which roundly rejected his attempt to ban political activity and censor the media.
In South Korea’s biggest political crisis in decades, Yoon declared martial law on Tuesday night during a televised address to thwart “anti-state forces” among his domestic political opponents. But outraged lawmakers unanimously rejected the decree. Yonhap news agency said the cabinet had agreed early on Wednesday to scrap the martial law.
Protesters outside the National Assembly parliament shouted and clapped. “We won!” they chanted and one demonstrator banged on a drum.
Cho Kuk, head of a minor opposition party, met protesters outside parliament and said: “This isn’t over. He put all the people in shock.” He vowed to impeach Yoon by putting together votes from other parties.
The South Korean won currency came off a more than two-year low against the dollar after Yoon’s reversal, while exchange traded funds linked to South Korean stocks similarly cut losses.
Yoon’s surprise declaration of martial law, which he cast as aimed at his political foes, was voted down by 190 lawmakers in parliament. His own party urged him to lift the decree. Under South Korean law, the president must immediately lift martial law if parliament demands it by a majority vote.
The crisis in a country that has been a democracy since the 1980s, and is a U.S. ally and major Asian economy, caused international alarm.
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