South Korea’s martial law order will be lifted after a cabinet meeting, the president said

President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol announced early Wednesday that he would soon lift the martial law he imposed overnight after parliament voted to reject his martial law declaration.

Yoon said his government had withdrawn the military that had been deployed and that he would formally lift martial law after a cabinet meeting “as soon as the members arrive”.

Earlier, Jon had vowed to eliminate “anti-state” forces in a fight against the opposition, which controls the country’s parliament and which he accuses of sympathizing with communists. North Korea.

Hours later, parliament voted to repeal the declaration, and National Assembly Speaker Wu Won Shik said lawmakers would “protect democracy with the people.” The resolution was passed with the participation of 190 of the 300 members of the ruling and opposition parties and was supported by all present, BBC. reported.

Police and military personnel were seen leaving the Assembly grounds after Woo called for their withdrawal. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, which has a majority in the 300-member parliament, said the party’s lawmakers would remain in the Assembly’s main hall until Yeon formally rescinded his order.

“Legislators of the Democratic Party, including myself and many others, will protect our country’s democracy and future and public safety, lives and property with our own lives,” Lee told reporters.

Apparently hundreds of protesters gathered outside the assembly, waving banners and calling for Yun’s impeachment. Some protesters clashed with troops before lawmakers voted, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or major property damage. At least one window was broken when troops tried to enter the assembly building. A woman unsuccessfully tried to wrestle a rifle from one of the soldiers while shouting “Aren’t you embarrassed!”

The president’s surprise move recalled an era of authoritarian leadership the country had not seen since the 1980s, and was immediately condemned by the opposition and the leader of Yoona’s own conservative party.

Following Yon’s announcement, South Korea’s military said it would suspend parliamentary and other political gatherings that could cause “social confusion,” South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

The military also said the nation’s striking doctors should return to work within 48 hours, Yonhap said. Thousands of doctors have been on strike for months over government plans to increase student numbers at medical schools. The military said anyone violating the decree could be arrested without a warrant.

Under South Korean law, martial law can be lifted by a majority vote in parliament, where the opposition Democratic Party has a majority.

Soon after the declaration, the Speaker of the National Assembly issued an emergency notice on his YouTube channel for all lawmakers to assemble in the National Assembly. He urged military and law enforcement officials to “remain calm and take your positions.

All 190 lawmakers who took part in the vote supported the lifting of martial law. Television footage showed soldiers stationed at the parliament leaving the venue after the vote.

A few hours earlier, television footage showed policemen blocking the entrance to the National Assembly building and soldiers wearing helmets carrying rifles in front of the building to restrict entry to the building. Dozens of police patrol cars and riot police buses were assembled, the BBC reports.

“Please open the gates. Your job is to protect the National Assembly. Why are you standing idly by while MPs are being trampled?” a middle-aged man shouted at the group of policemen guarding the gate.

An Associated Press photographer saw at least three helicopters, possibly from the military, land on the assembly grounds, while two or three helicopters circled above the site.

Han Dong-hoon, leader of Yona’s conservative People’s Power Party, called the decision to impose martial law “wrong” and vowed to “stop it with the people.” Opposition leader Lee, who conceded to Jon in the 2022 presidential election, called Jon’s announcement “illegal and unconstitutional.”

Yun said during a televised speech that martial law would help “restore and protect” the country from “falling into the depths of national collapse.” He said he would “eliminate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order.”

“I will eliminate the anti-state forces as soon as possible and normalize the country,” he said, while asking people to believe in him and endure “some inconvenience.”

A spokesman for the White House National Security Council told CBS News that the Biden administration had no advance notice of the martial law declaration, but was in contact with the South Korean government and was “monitoring the situation closely.”

“We are seriously concerned about the developments we are seeing on the ground in the ROK,” the spokesman said, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.

A White House official told CBS News that President Biden, who is arriving Angolais aware of the situation.

Washington has stationed about 28,500 troops in South Korea to protect it from North Korea, its nuclear-armed neighbor.

“We are watching the recent developments in the ROK with grave concern,” said US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell. “We have every hope and expectation that any political disputes will be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law.”

Yoon, whose approval rating has plummeted in recent months, has fought his agenda against the opposition-controlled parliament since taking office in 2022.

Jon’s party is deadlocked with the Liberal opposition over next year’s budget bill. The opposition has also tried to pass motions to impeach three top prosecutors, including the head of Seoul’s Central District Prosecutors’ Office, in what conservatives have called retaliation for their criminal investigation into Lee, who was seen as the front-runner in the field. in public opinion polls the next presidential election in 2027.

Yoon has also rejected calls for an independent investigation into scandals involving his wife and top officials, drawing swift, strong rebukes from his political rivals. The Democratic Party reportedly called an emergency meeting of its lawmakers after Jon’s announcement.

Yoon’s move is the first declaration of martial law since the country’s democratization in 1987. The previous state of martial law was in October 1979.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.