South Korean parliament blocks president’s martial law declaration

South Korea’s parliament voted late on Tuesday to block President Yoon Suk-yeol’s surprised move to declare emergency martial law, which sent shockwaves through the country and sparked huge public protests outside Seoul’s National Assembly building.

Yoon made the declaration in a televised address earlier on Tuesday, accusing the nation’s opposition, which has control of parliament, of sympathising with North Korea and paralysing the government through anti-state activity.

It was the first time that martial law had been declared since the East Asian nation officially transitioned to democracy with the adoption of a new constitution in the 1980s.

South Korea’s opposition and the leader of Yoon’s own conservative party criticised the declaration and vowed to block it. Under South Korean law, martial law can be lifted with a majority vote in parliament, where the opposition Democratic Party has the numbers.

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik submitted a resolution requesting the lifting of martial law at around 1 am Wednesday local time (5 pm Tuesday CET). All 190 lawmakers who were present, out of 300 in total, voted in favour. Images shared by media outlets showed police and protesters clashing outside parliament, and troops trying to enter the building.

Yoon had said that emergency martial law was critical to protect South Korea from “threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements”.

“The martial law is aimed at eradicating pro-North Korean forces and to protect the constitutional order of freedom,” he added.

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 the government-funded Yonhap news agency.

As well as the suspension of parliamentary activities, all media outlets and publishers were to be placed under martial law control, while the country’s striking healthcare workers would be instructed to return to work within 48 hours, according to Yonhap.

Thousands of doctors have been striking for months over government plans to expand the number of students at medical schools.

Before the vote in parliament, 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, had described the announcement as “illegal and unconstitutional”.

Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through the opposition-controlled parliament. His approval rating has dipped in recent months.

The martial law declaration came after the Democratic Party railroaded a downsized budget bill and submitted impeachment motions against a state auditor and the chief prosecutor, Yonhap reported.

Additional sources • AP