South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol raised emergency martial law which he had decreed to protect the “constitutional order” from the North Korean “communist forces”, a measure that Parliament later voted to revoke in an extraordinary session.
The South Korean National Assembly obtained 190 votes in favor of lifting martial law, which, according to the South Korean Constitution, forced the president to withdraw that measure. Shortly after, at 4.30 local time (19:30 GMT), the Korean Government approved a motion to lift martial law, which remained in force for about six hours.
“A moment ago, the National Assembly asked that the state of emergency be lifted, and We have withdrawn the military deployed for martial law operations. “We will accept the request of the National Assembly and lift martial law in a cabinet meeting,” the president said in a televised speech.
The news agency Yonhap reported that Yoon Suk-yeol will end Martial Law once all members of the Government meet.
Thousands of protesters gathered early Wednesday in front of the National Assembly to protest against martial law and ask for Yoon’s resignation.
The spontaneous rally took place after the president announced the measure after 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday night (1:00 p.m. GMT), which took the Asian country by surprise, being the first time it has been decreed since the 1980s.
“This has been a senseless attempt to destroy South Korean democracy,” explained to EFE Kim Seung-ho, a 60-year-old businessman who attended the protests, in which everyone from teenagers to elderly people participated and repeatedly sang the national anthem.
Yoon’s subsequent 180-degree turn provoked the joy of the protesters who, despite the low temperatures, had remained vigil throughout the night in defiance of the president’s order.
Some 190 lawmakers had managed to enter the sealed National Assembly building in the early hours of Wednesday, where they voted unanimously in favor of a motion to block the declaration of martial law and call for its lifting. According to the Constitution, martial law must be lifted when the majority of Parliament demands it.
In May 1980, dictator Chun Doo-hwan ordered martial law and the military detained key opposition political leaders, universities were closed, political activities were banned, and the press was restricted.
The current declaration of martial law was widely criticized by opposition parties and even by Yoon’s own party leader, Han Dong-hoon, who said it was a “wrong” measure and promised to “block it” together with the citizens.
Parliament’s rejection of martial law left Yoon, who before declaring it was facing the lowest popularity ratings of his mandate, in a very compromised position.
Yoon had given a number of reasons to justify the measure. “To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats of communist forces in North Korea and eliminate anti-state elements that plunder the freedom and happiness of the people, I declare emergency martial law.”he said in a live televised address to the nation around 10 p.m.
Yoon did not give details of the North’s threats, but the South is still technically at war with nuclear-armed Pyongyang. “Our National Assembly has become a refuge for criminals, a lair of the legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyze the judicial and administrative systems and annul our liberal democratic order”said.
General Park An-su, head of the army, assumed command of martial law under the previous order and immediately issued a decree that “all political activities” were prohibited.
USAa partner of South Korea, stated this Tuesday that the government of the conservative South Korean president did not previously inform him of its decision. “We are seriously concerned by the events we are seeing on the ground in the Republic of Korea”he stated in a statement sent to EFE a spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
The Government of Joe Biden, said source, is “in contact” with Seoul and “closely monitoring the situation.”
“The Administration is in contact with the ROK government and is closely monitoring the situation as we work to obtain more information. “President Biden has been informed about the situation,” the short text concludes.
The General Secretariat of the United Nations For his part, he assured that he would follow “very closely and with concern” the unexpected declaration of martial law.
Chinaa key ally of North Korea, urged its citizens in the South to remain calm and act cautiously, while the united kingdom He also said he was “following developments closely.”
The won, South Korea’s currency, moderated its decline against the US dollar after the South Korean National Assembly voted to lift martial law.
The South Korean currency, which has lost almost 3% against the dollar, fell 1.5% at 6:30 p.m. (17:30 GMT), according to data from Bloomberg.
(With information from AFP, AP and EFE)
