South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he would lift martial law, abandoning a dramatic political gamble that sparked fierce opposition from the country’s lawmakers and angered international allies. international concerns.
Yoon, a hardline former prosecutor, said early Wednesday morning that he would withdraw the “emergency” decree that he announced just a few hours earlier.
In a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday night, he argued that martial law was necessary to “eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country,” but it was Korean parliament members unanimously rejected it.
Just before 4:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday, in a second televised address, Yoon said he would “accept the parliament’s request and lift martial law through a cabinet meeting immediately.” when the members arrive”.
The ouster, which analysts said put the president’s political future in serious jeopardy, came after Yoon’s plan was strongly criticized by lawmakers across the political spectrum.
Critics include the leader of the president’s conservative People Power party, Han Dong-hoon, a former prosecutor who was once considered Yoon’s political protégé.
“Martial law has lost its effectiveness,” Han posted on social networks immediately after being rejected by parliament.
“Therefore, from this point on, all state agencies that use force, including the South Korean military and police, have an obligation not to follow unlawful or unfair instructions.”
Yoon’s declaration of martial law – the first such decree in South Korea since the 1979 military coup – was also met with expressions of concern from the United States, Seoul’s top military ally.
US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Washington was watching with “deep concern” and was cooperating with the South Korean government “at all levels”.
A spokesman for the US National Security Council later said: “We are relieved that President Yoon has changed his position on his disturbing declaration of martial law and respected it. . . congressional vote to end it.”
There were chaotic scenes during the vote on Yoon’s martial law order in the opposition-controlled parliament, in which 190 out of 300 members participated.
With military helicopters circling overhead, soldiers sought to block crowds of protesters from entering the parliament building.
The office of the speaker of parliament later confirmed that the military had withdrawn from the building after the vote.
Yoon’s failed attempt to impose martial law comes after simmering tensions between the president, whose approval ratings have fallen to record lows amid a slowing economy, and his opponents his in parliament.
Yoon accused the leftist majority in parliament of plotting rebellion and cultivating North Korean sympathies.
Opposition leaders say they have been suppressed by prosecutors allied with the president.
They also said Yoon, who praised the economic achievements of South Korea’s previous military leaders, had revived the country’s authoritarian tradition.
Yoon described his opponents as “sympathizers” of North Korea when he declared martial law banning “all political activities, including activities of the national assembly, local councils, party political parties” and protests.
Last week, lawmakers voted to cut nearly $3 billion from Yoon’s proposed 2025 budget, cutting funding for the president’s office, senior prosecutors as well as the police.
Claiming that he had been forced by the opposition’s efforts to impeach senior officials and prosecutors, Yoon said the cuts would turn South Korea into a “drug paradise” filled with “criminality.” public order panic”.
His declaration of martial law was the first since the imposition of democracy in 1987 in South Korea, which was ruled by right-wing military governments after the end of the Korean War in the 1950s. .
However, after the executive order was withdrawn and his political power appeared to be waning, analysts have questioned whether Mr. Yoon can serve the full five-year term as president, which will expire. expires in 2027 or not.
On Wednesday morning, more than 40 opposition lawmakers called on parliament to launch impeachment proceedings against Yoon.
“The president committed an act equivalent to treason by mobilizing the army,” said Hwang Un-ha of the left-wing North Korea Reconstruction Party.
“With extremely low public support and without strong support within his party and administration, the president should have The president must know how difficult it will be to carry out his late-night plans.” edict.
“He seems like a beleaguered politician, making a desperate move against mounting scandals, institutional obstruction and calls for impeachment, all of this is now likely to increase.”
Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Washington
