South Korea president to lift martial law order after parliament voted to block it

3 December 2024, 13:50 | Updated: 3 December 2024, 23:29

South Korea's president has said he will lift the emergency martial law order he had declared just hours earlier.

Yoon Suk Yeol's decision comes after parliament voted to block the order, with the speaker of the National Assembly, Woo Won Shik, declaring it "invalid" and saying politicians would "protect democracy with the people".

The president had said in a TV address on Tuesday night he was putting the military in temporary charge to defend the constitutional order and "eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces".

But in a U-turn, Mr Yoon said martial law command forces have withdrawn and a cabinet meeting will be held as soon as possible.

South Korea martial law: Follow latest updates

After his earlier shock announcement, troops had entered the National Assembly building as police and protesters clashed outside and helicopters, likely to be from the military, flew overhead.

Staff barricaded the doors of the building, in the capital Seoul, to try to stop the soldiers entering.

Inside however, politicians were able to hold a vote and unanimously decided by 190-0 to block the president's declaration.

According to the law, martial law must be lifted if the assembly votes against it - and police and soldiers were later seen leaving parliament.

Lee Jae-myung, who heads the opposition liberal Democratic Party, which holds the majority in the 300-seat parliament, said anyone acting under the orders of Mr Yoon or the martial law edict was now "breaking the law".

Despite the vote, the defence ministry told reporters it would uphold the order "until the president lifts [it]".

The president had said in his earlier TV address that martial law was necessary to protect "from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order".

The declaration was the first since the country's democratisation in 1987.

UK 'deeply concerned'

Following the announcement, the military said parliament and other political gatherings were suspended and the media was under its control, reported Yonhap news agency.

US deputy secretary of state Kurt Campbell said the White House was watching with "grave concern" while Britain's minister for the Indo-Pacific, Catherine West, said the UK was "deeply concerned".

She advised Britons to monitor and follow Foreign Office advice and said its Seoul embassy was "in touch with the Korean authorities".

"We call for a peaceful resolution to the situation, in accordance with the law and the constitution of the Republic of Korea," said Ms West.

Scandals and a government in crisis

Since taking office in 2022, President Yoon has struggled to push his agenda against an opposition-controlled parliament.

His conservative People Power Party has been in a deadlock with the liberal Democratic Party over next year's budget.

Ministers protested the move on Monday by the Democratic Party to slash more than four trillion won (approximately £2.1bn) from the government's proposal.

Mr Yoon said that action undermines the essential functioning of government administration.

The president has also dismissed calls for independent investigations into scandals involving his wife and top officials, which has drawn criticism from his political rivals.

Security and defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke told Sky News the government in South Korea has been in "crisis" for a couple of years.

"Yoon has been leading a minority government for some time, against him the Democratic Party have just frustrated whatever he has tried to do," Clarke said.

"He has decided to get ahead of his opposition by creating this move.

"The last thing that liberal democracy needs at the moment is one of the democracies of Asia turning into a short-term dictatorship, so I think this is only a short-term parliamentary manoeuvre, but it may turn out to be more."

Martial law is typically temporary, but can continue indefinitely. It is most often declared in times of war and/or emergencies such as civil unrest and natural disasters.

South Korea's previous period of martial law was in October 1979.

(c) Sky News 2024: South Korea president to lift martial law order after parliament voted to block it