At the same time, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of parliament to demand the withdrawal of the text and the resignation of Mr. Yoon.
The imposition of martial law, a first in more than 40 years in the country, involved the suspension of political life as well as the closure of parliament and the placing under control of the media.
This announcement generated concern and disapproval around the world, particularly from the United States, Seoul’s main ally against North Korea, and from China.
In South Korea, the main opposition party (Democratic Party) demanded the “resignation” of Mr. Yoon and threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings against him if he did not step down “immediately”.
“We will file a complaint for rebellion” against the president, his defense and interior ministers and “key figures in the army and police, such as the martial law commander (General of the army, editor’s note) and the police chief,” the party later added.
That of Mr. Yoon, the People Power Party, stressed on Wednesday that the latter should be held accountable.
“The president must explain this tragic situation immediately and in detail,” the head of his party, Han Dong-hoon, declared on television, stressing that “all those responsible will have to be held accountable.”
The president’s chief of staff and important advisers “submitted their resignations en masse” in the morning, according to the national agency Yonhap.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the country’s largest inter-union association with some 1.2 million members, called for an “indefinite general strike” until Mr. Yoon’s resignation, saying he had “signed his own end in power.”
At midday, the leader had still not reappeared in public.
Yoon “went crazy”
In the wake of the proclamation of martial law, 190 parliamentarians voted against the measure, while special forces soldiers attempted to enter the session room.
In total, more than 280 soldiers broke into the institution, according to Yonhap.
In front of the building, sealed overnight, demonstrators shouted: “Stop Yoon Suk Yeol!”, noted AFP journalists.
“Why did we have to come here after working all day, in the middle of the week?” shouted a demonstrator. “It’s because of this senseless martial law decreed by Yoon, who has gone crazy,” cried another protester, cheered by hundreds of people.
Mr. Yoon finally decided to announce on television the lifting of martial law and the withdrawal of troops deployed in the capital, sparking cries of joy from demonstrators.
At the request of the National Assembly, “we have withdrawn the soldiers who had been deployed for martial law operations”, he said at 4:30 a.m. local time (7:30 p.m. GMT Tuesday).
The army had indicated that it would only obey the president’s orders.
Unpublished since 1980
Late Tuesday, Yoon Suk Yeol in a surprise speech explained his choice to resurrect a law last activated in 1980, when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against a military coup. Demonstrations bloodily repressed.
In the context of difficulties in adopting the budget, Mr. Yoon justified the measure on Tuesday by saying he wanted to “eliminate elements hostile to the State” and “protect liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korean communist forces.” .
Among other things, he pointed out a “legislative dictatorship” and accused the elected representatives of the opposition of blocking “all budgets essential to the primary functions of the nation”.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost the presidential election to Mr. Yoon in 2022, described the measure imposed by him as “illegal” and called for demonstrations in front of parliament.
The White House said it was unaware of Mr. Yoon’s intentions.
The United Nations and the United Kingdom have also expressed concern, while China has called on its nationals in South Korea to exercise caution. Moscow, which has strengthened its ties with North Korea over its war in Ukraine, deemed the situation “alarming”.
Japan, for its part, said on Wednesday it was monitoring the situation with “exceptional and serious concern”.
