South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol said he was lifting his martial law order, abandoning a dramatic political gamble that had sparked fierce opposition from the country’s lawmakers and alarm from international allies.
Yun, a hardline former prosecutor general, announced early Wednesday that he would rescind the “emergency” order he had announced hours earlier.
In a national broadcast on Tuesday night, he justified martial law as necessary to “eliminate anti-national forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country,” but South Korean lawmakers unanimously rejected the move. .
Just before 4:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday, Yun said in his second televised speech, “We accept the National Assembly’s demands, and as soon as the members arrive, we will lift martial law through a cabinet meeting.”
Analysts say the president’s political future is in serious jeopardy due to his ouster, and the move comes after Yoon’s plan was strongly criticized by lawmakers across the political spectrum. .
Critics included Han Dong-hoon, leader of the president’s own conservative People’s Power party and a former fellow prosecutor who was once considered a political protégé of Mr. Yoon.
Immediately after the bill was rejected by the National Assembly, Han posted on social media that “martial law has ceased to be effective.”
“Therefore, from this moment on, all state organs that use physical force, including the military and police of the Republic of Korea, are obliged not to comply with illegal or unjustified instructions.”
Yoon’s declaration of martial law (the first such declaration in South Korea since a military coup in 1979) also drew concerns from the United States, Seoul’s main military ally.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said the United States was watching with “grave concern” and was engaging with the South Korean government “at all levels.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council later said: “We are relieved that President Yun has withdrawn his concerns about the declaration of martial law and has respected the statement,” he said. . . Congressional vote to end it. ”
In the opposition-dominated National Assembly, 190 of the 300 members participated, leading to confusion during the vote on Yun’s martial law.
Soldiers tried to prevent large numbers of protesters from entering the Capitol building as military helicopters circled overhead.
The Office of the Speaker of Parliament later confirmed that troops had withdrawn from the building after the vote.
Yun’s failure to impose martial law comes as tensions simmer between the president, whose approval ratings have fallen to record lows amid the economic slowdown, and his parliamentary rivals.
Yun accused the left-wing majority in the National Assembly of plotting rebellion and harboring sympathies for North Korea.
Opposition leaders said they were being persecuted by prosecutors allied with the president.
They also said Mr. Yoon, who has praised the economic achievements of South Korea’s past military leaders, has revived the country’s authoritarian traditions.
Yun referred to opponents as North Korea’s “sympathizers” when he announced martial law banning “all political activities, including those of the National Assembly, local assemblies, and political parties,” as well as demonstrations.
Last week, lawmakers voted to cut about $3 billion from Yun’s proposed 2025 budget, cutting funding for the president, top prosecutors and the police.
Yun claimed that his hand was forced by opposition efforts to impeach government officials and prosecutors, and said the cuts would turn South Korea into a “drug paradise” filled with “security panic.” Ta.
His declaration of martial law was the first since democracy was introduced in South Korea in 1987, which had been ruled by a right-wing military government after the end of the Korean War in the 1950s.
But with the executive order rescinded and his political authority clearly in tatters, analysts are questioning whether Yun will be able to complete his five-year presidential term, which expires in 2027.
On Wednesday morning, more than 40 opposition members called on the National Assembly to begin impeachment proceedings against Yun.
Hwang Eun-ah of the left-wing Korea Reconstruction Party said, “The president mobilized the military and committed an act tantamount to treason.”
Leif Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha University in Seoul, said, “It is difficult for a president to implement late-night policies when public support is extremely low and there is no strong support within the party or the administration.” I should have known,” he said. Decree.
“He sounded like a politician under siege taking desperate action against growing scandals, institutional obstruction, and calls for impeachment, all of which are now likely to intensify.”
Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Washington
