South Korean leader declares martial law, sparking chaos as lawmakers vote to block move
Troops seen leaving parliament after politicians from opposition and president’s party force way in to unanimously vote to lift military rule, as crowds of protesters rally outside
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday, vowing to eliminate “anti-state” forces, in a move that stunned the country and triggered a short-lived attempt by troops to enter parliament, as lawmakers and protesters quickly voiced opposition to the most serious challenge to the country’s democracy since the 1980s.
Hours after the announcement, parliament voted to lift the declaration, with the National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik declaring that lawmakers “will protect democracy with the people.”
Woo called for police and military personnel to withdraw from the Assembly’s grounds.
Yoon’s move, which he cast as a bid to neuter political opponents he accuses of sympathizing with communist North Korea, harkened back to an era of authoritarian leaders that the country has not seen since the 1980s.
It was immediately denounced by the opposition and the leader of Yoon’s own conservative party.
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.
Media and publishers would be under the control of the martial law command, the military said.
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 military said anyone who violates the decree could be arrested without a warrant.
Under South Korean law, martial law can be lifted with a majority vote in the parliament, where the opposition Democratic Party holds a majority.
Soon after the declaration, the National Assembly speaker called on his YouTube channel for all lawmakers to gather at the Assembly building. He urged military and law enforcement personnel to “remain calm and hold their positions.”
Crowds of people gathered at the parliament building to rally against the order as lawmakers attempted to push their way in, with some in the crowd shouting: “Withdraw emergency martial law!”
국회 본관 안으로 계엄군 진입중 pic.twitter.com/tYm5nRcjfH
— ???????????? ???????????????????????????? (@minjoo_hongtae) December 3, 2024
“Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol” shouted others.
Live television footage showed helmeted troops apparently tasked with imposing martial law attempting to enter the assembly building, and parliamentary aides were seen trying to push the soldiers back by spraying fire extinguishers.
BREAKING:
South Korean forces smash the windows of the Parliament and enter to stop MPs from voting on overturning the President’s Martial Law pic.twitter.com/G6yQXiRHzI
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 3, 2024
An Associated Press photographer saw at least three helicopters, likely from the military, that landed inside the Assembly grounds, while two or three helicopters circled above the site.
All 190 lawmakers who participated in the vote supported the lifting of martial law. Television footage showed soldiers who had been stationed at parliament leaving the site after the vote.
#BREAKING #SouthKorea JUST IN: Opposition lawmakers are climbing the walls of the National Assembly’s courtyard in an effort to enter Parliament and block the martial law vote.https://t.co/M0XACH4lYJ pic.twitter.com/dbQXIWFZIb
— The National Independent (@NationalIndNews) December 3, 2024
Israel’s embassy in Seoul urged its citizens in the country to avoid public places until the situation in the country settles down, but said it was still too early to assess the ramifications of Yoon’s declaration.
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.”
Yoon said during a televised speech that martial law would help “rebuild and protect” the country from “falling into the depths of national ruin.” He said he would “eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order.”
“I will eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country,” he said, while asking the people to believe in him and tolerate “some inconveniences.”
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.
His party has been locked in an impasse with the liberal opposition over next year’s budget bill. The opposition has also attempted to pass motions to impeach three top prosecutors, including the chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, in what the conservatives have called a vendetta against their criminal investigations of Lee, who has been seen as the favorite for the next presidential election in 2027 in opinion polls.
Yoon has also dismissed calls for independent investigations into scandals involving his wife and top officials, drawing quick, strong rebukes from his political rivals.
Yoon’s move was the first declaration of martial law since the country’s democratization in 1987. The country was last under martial law in October 1979.
