In South Korea, martial law was lifted on the night of December 3 to 4 by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who had proclaimed it a few hours earlier, accusing the opposition of constituting “hostile forces to the State.”
The announcement sparked concern and disapproval around the world, particularly in the United States, Seoul’s main ally against North Korea and China. The South Korean Parliament, dominated by the opposition, voted to lift martial law, directly opposing the president, under pressure from the military and supported by demonstrators who shouted “Stop Yoon Suk Yeol!”. The government finally approved the lifting of this exceptional measure during the night, said the national Yonhap agency, shortly after a statement by the president on television which announced that the troops deployed in Seoul were going to return to the barracks.
“There was a request from the National Assembly to lift the state of emergency, and we withdrew the soldiers who had been deployed for martial law operations,” Yoon Suk Yeo said. “We will grant the request of the National Assembly and lift martial law during a government meeting,” he added, immediately sparking cries of joy from the demonstrators gathered in front of Parliament.
The imposition of martial law earlier in the day meant the suspension of political life and the sealing of Parliament. The opposition-dominated Assembly voted to lift martial law and declared the president’s decision invalid, but the army stressed that it would only obey the president’s decisions.
Last established in 1980 in Korea
South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung had described martial law as “illegal” and called on the population to gather in front of Parliament in protest. Hundreds of people heard his call and flocked to Parliament around 1 a.m. Thanks to the demonstrators, 190 deputies managed to enter the Assembly and voted unanimously against martial law.
Martial law was no longer in place in South Korea since the democratization process initiated at the end of the 1980sincluding during periods of high tension, such as in 2016, when millions of demonstrators obtained the impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye, amid a corruption scandal.
It was last decreed on May 17, 1980, during the military coup of General Chun Doo-hwan. The next day, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Gwangju (South-West), a traditional center of protest, to protest the coup. The demonstrations were repressed in a bloodbath. Martial law was lifted in January 1981.
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