Seoul:
South Korean President Yun Seok-Yeol announced that martial law would be lifted within six hours of imposing it in the country.
At 4:30 a.m. (local time), President Yoon said in a special address to the nation, “We recently received a request from the National Assembly to lift the state of emergency, and we have withdrawn the troops that had been dispatched.” Regarding the imposition of martial law, we will accept the Diet’s request and lift martial law through a Cabinet meeting.”
South Korean parliamentarians unanimously voted against the imposition of martial law at a midnight parliamentary session to condemn the president’s decision.
The president then agreed to honor the vote, as did the secretary of war. Immediately after the President rescinded the order and addressed the nation, the South Korean Cabinet convened a meeting at 5 a.m. (local time) and approved a motion to formally lift martial law, one of the shortest in history. did.
As events unfolded in South Korea from Tuesday to Wednesday, President Yoon’s decision to declare a state of national emergency and martial law was fiercely opposed by members of Congress, who rejected the decision to ban political activities and censor the media.
President Yoon said his decision was made to suppress “anti-national forces.” It has been about 50 years since South Korea imposed martial law, the last time being in 1980.
Politicians and protesters gathered outside the National Diet (Parliament), shouting slogans in defiance of the martial law that was in force at the time. Security forces had to fire tear gas to disperse the crowd. The country’s currency also entered a downward spiral. However, the situation improved after President Yoon agreed to the parliamentary vote and announced that he would soon announce his withdrawal.
South Korea is one of Asia’s major economies and an important ally of the United States. It has also been a democracy for over 40 years. Therefore, the move to impose martial law caused international alarm.
South Korea is under constant threat from its nuclear-armed neighbor North Korea, but President Yoon did not hint at any specific threat from Kim Jong-un that might have led to his sudden decision.
President Yoon has been under pressure in domestic politics since his party, the People’s Power Party, suffered a landslide defeat in the general election held in April this year. As a result, the opposition party held a two-thirds majority in parliament. President Yoon has also been unpopular recently, with his public rating dropping to just 20%.
