South Korea parliament votes to defy president by lifting martial law declaration

The South Korean parliament has voted to defy the country’s president and immediately lift his martial law declaration.

President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday, vowing to eliminate “anti-state” forces as he struggles against an opposition that controls the country’s parliament and that he accuses of sympathizing with communist North Korea.

Yoon’s announcement drew hundreds of protesters to the South Korean parliament.   

“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements… I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation.

“With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralyzed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice,” he added.

South Korea’s National Assembly was sealed Tuesday after Yoon’s declaration, the country’s Yonhap news agency reported.  Helicopters were seen landing on the roof of the building in Seoul, in live television footage aired by broadcasters.

Hundreds of people gathered at the South Korean parliament early Wednesday to protest. TV footage showed police officers blocking the entrance of the National Assembly and helmeted soldiers carrying rifles in front of the National Assembly’s main building to restrict the entrance of people.  

“Open the gate, please. Your job is to protect the National Assembly. Why are you standing idly by while MPs are being trampled?” a middle-aged man shouted at a group of policemen guarding the gate.

Following Yoon’s announcement, South Korea’s military proclaimed that parliament and other political gatherings that could cause “social confusion” would be suspended, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.  

The military also said that the country’s striking doctors should return to work within 48 hours, Yonhap said. Thousands of doctors have been striking for months over government plans to expand the number of students at medical schools. 

The leader of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, Han Dong-hoon, called the decision to impose martial law “wrong” and vowed to “stop it with the people.” Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, called Yoon’s announcement “illegal and unconstitutional.”

A White House National Security Council spokesperson told CBS News the Biden administration is in contact with the South Korean government and “is monitoring the situation closely.”  

Washington stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to protect it from North Korea, its nuclear-armed neighbor.  

The surprise move comes as Yoon’s People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party continue to bicker over next year’s budget bill. Opposition lawmakers last week approved a significantly downsized budget plan through a parliamentary committee.

“Our National Assembly has become a haven for criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyze the judicial and administrative systems and overturn our liberal democratic order,” Yoon said.

Yoon – whose approval rating has dipped in recent months – has struggled to push his agenda against an opposition-controlled parliament since taking office in 2022.

Yoon’s conservative People Power Party had been locked in an impasse with the liberal opposition Democratic Party over next year’s budget bill. He has also been dismissing calls for independent investigations into scandals involving his wife and top officials, drawing quick, strong rebukes from his political rivals.

The Democratic Party reportedly called an emergency meeting of its lawmakers following Yoon’s announcement.

Yoon accused opposition lawmakers of cutting “all key budgets essential to the nation’s core functions, such as combatting drug crimes and maintaining public security… turning the country into a drug haven and a state of public safety chaos.”

Yoon went on to label the opposition, which holds a majority in the 300-member parliament, as “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” and called his decision “inevitable.”

“I will restore the country to normalcy by getting rid of anti-state forces as soon as possible.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.