UPDATE — 11:43 AM: South Korea‘s President Yoon Suk Yeol has said he will lift his controversial martial law order following widespread condemnation from the public and all sides of country’s political sphere.
Military officers have withdrawn from the National Assembly building. The story is still developing.
More to come
PREVIOUSLY — 11:17 AM: South Korea’s political crisis deepened this morning as the country’s National Assembly voted to block President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law order.
South Korea’s parliament, with 190 of its 300 members present, passed the motion on Wednesday morning local time requiring the martial law order to be lifted, Reuters and local news agencies reported. National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik said the martial law order was “invalid” and that lawmakers “will protect democracy with the people,” AP reported.
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However, shortly after the parliament’s rebuttable was passed, South Korean military officials speaking with to local broadcaster YTN said martial law will remain in effect until it is lifted by President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Soldiers are currently stationed outside the National Assembly building. Videos from Korean state television showing protestors and local police clashing outside the building have been shared widely across social media platforms.
According to AP, South Korea’s constitution allows the president to declare martial law during “wartime, war-like situations or other comparable national emergency states” that require military force to maintain peace and order. It’s unclear why the president believes the country occupies such a state.
PREVIOUSLY — 8:45 AM : President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea declared emergency martial law during a late-night televised address on Tuesday.
The President said during the address that he was halting “all political activities” and would use the time to eradicate “shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces” in his country.
“I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea 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,” Yoon said on Tuesday.
The order immediately bans demonstrations and “all political activities, including those of the National Assembly, local councils, political parties,” the FT reported. The president also assumed command of the country’s news media under the order.
Yesterday’s order was the first declaration of martial law in South Korea since 1987. On Wednesday morning local time, however, South Korea’s national assembly voted to block the President’s order.
“There is no reason to declare martial law. We cannot let the military rule this country,” Lee Jae-myung, Korea’s opposition leader said in a statement. “President Yoon Seok Yeol has betrayed the people. President Yoon’s illegal declaration of emergency martial law is null and void.”
Han Dong-hoon, the head of Yoon’s own political party the People Power Party, has also criticized the martial law order. In a statement on Facebook, he said: “The president’s martial law declaration is wrong. We will stop it along with the people,” according to local media reports.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the National Assembly building in Seoul, South Korea’s capital, on Tuesday night chanting “abolish martial law” and “oppose martial law,” according to The Guardian.
Videos from Korean state television showing protestors and local police clashing outside the National Assembly building have been shared widely across social media platforms. The country’s parliament is currently at a standstill. It’s unclear what may happen next. A White House spokesperson has said the U.S. government is monitoring the situation closely and is in contact with the South Korean government.