South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he will lift a martial law declaration after the country’s National Assembly voted to block it on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Just hours after President Yeol had declared martial law, members from both of South Korea’s largest political parties made it through police blockades at the parliament building to vote and override the declaration.
South Korean law allows the National Assembly to override a president declaring martial law by a majority vote. All 190 members present voted to lift martial law.
After the vote, cameras captured footage of soldiers who had been blocking the building’s entrance leaving the area.
Yoon faced scandals after he and his conservative People Power Party won a narrow election in 2022. The more liberal Democratic Party has a majority in the National Assembly.
That has led to an ongoing budget showdown and an argument over the potential firing of prosecutors who are investigating opposition leader Lee Jae-myung.
Yoon and his wife also face accusations of inappropriately influencing the People Power Party’s choice of candidate in a special election. It’s part of an alleged deal between Yoon and a pollster, where Yoon would receive free polling in exchange for the pollster’s candidate of choice running in the election.
South Korea’s constitution allows a president to declare martial law in wartime or emergency situations. The country has not activated martial law since 1979, when the country was under military rule.
Yoon accused the opposition of being a “pro-North Korean force.”
The first order after Yoon declared martial law banned political activities and tightly limited what media were allowed to report.
The leader of Yoon’s own party agreed with opposition leaders, saying Yoon’s decision to declare martial law was wrong.
Protesters assembled outside the National Assembly almost as soon as Yoon first declared martial law. Now that parliament has overruled the declaration, protesters are calling for Yoon’s impeachment.
A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council says President Joe Biden did not receive advanced notice about Yoon’s declaration. The White House said it was “seriously concerned” by what was happening in Seoul.
South Korea’s economy has already taken a hit as worldwide markets react to the country’s instability. The country’s currency, the won, has fallen sharply versus the U.S. dollar.
![TASS [🇷🇺-affiliated] logo](https://groundnews.b-cdn.net/interests/1c364c1e553231a17f22d4a16db85a51fb715dd3.jpg)
![RIA Novosti [🇷🇺-affiliated] logo](https://groundnews.b-cdn.net/interests/2a0109015009cf4c268971a719f58598126b4051.jpg)
![Lenta.RU [🇷🇺-affiliated] logo](https://groundnews.b-cdn.net/interests/54d337f93d4216c40f0bbf0a3a7b46c926c46551.jpg)
![Sputnik Globe [🇷🇺-affiliated] logo](https://groundnews.b-cdn.net/interests/e68d7b37f05a67679cc6152365afdd6e33dafdc1.jpg)
