Seoul:
Within six hours of announcing a martial law in the country, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he will withdraw it.
In a 4:30 am (local time) special address to the nation, President Yoon said, “Just a moment ago, there was a demand from the National Assembly to lift the state of emergency, and we have withdrawn the military that was deployed for martial law operations. We will accept the National Assembly’s request and lift the martial law through the Cabinet meeting.”
South Korean MPs had voted unanimously against the imposition of martial law at a midnight session of the National Assembly to denounce the President’s decision.
The President then agreed to honour the vote, as did the army chief. Shortly after the President withdrew the order and addressed the nation, the South Korean cabinet convened for a 5 am (local time) meeting to approve a motion to officially lift what turned out to be one of the shortest-ever martial laws in history.
As events unfolded in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday in Korea, President Yoon’s decision for a national emergency and martial law was vehemently opposed by parliamentarians who rejected the decision to ban political activity and censor the media.
Explaining his move, President Yoon had said that the decision was taken to crush “anti-state forces”. This was the first time in nearly five decades that South Korea had imposed a martial law – the last one being in 1980.
Politicians and protesters had assembled outside the National Assembly (Parliament) shouting slogans in defiance of the martial law that was in place at the time. Security forces had to fire tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. The country’s currency also went on a downward spiral. However, the situation improved after President Yoon agreed to the vote in Parliament and said he will announce the withdrawal shortly.
South Korea is one of the major economies of Asia and is a key ally of the United States. It has also been a democracy for more than four decades. The move to enforce a martial law had therefore caused international alarm.
Though South Korea is under a constant threat from its northern nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea, President Yoon did not suggest any specific threat from Kim Jong-Un that could have led to this sudden decision.
President Yoon has been under pressure in domestic politics after his party – People Power Party – suffered a massive defeat in the general election held in April this year. The result left the opposition with more than two-thirds majority in Parlaiment. President Yoon has also been rather unpopular in recent times, with his national rating falling to just around 20 per cent.
