WORLD NEWS
South Korean parliament votes to defy president by lifting his declaration of
martial law
BY KIM TONG-HYUNG
Updated 11:33 AM EST, December 3, 2024
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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared
martial law late Tuesday, vowing to eliminate “anti-state” forces as he struggles
against an opposition that controls the country’s parliament and that he
accuses of sympathizing with communist North Korea.
Hours later, 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.
The president’s surprising move harkened back to an era of authoritarian
leaders that the country has not seen since the 1980s, and 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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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Earlier, TV showed police officers blocking the entrance of the Assembly and
helmeted soldiers carrying rifles in front of the building.
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.
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.”
Image
Police officers stand guard in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, South
Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Image
South Korean martial law soldiers try to enter the National Assembly compound
in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (Cho Jung-woo/Newsis via
AP)
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.”
Image
People watch a TV screen showing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s
televised briefing at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3,
2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
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.
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Yoon’s 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’s last previous martial law was in October
1979.
___
Associated Press Writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to
this report.
KIM TONG-HYUNG
Kim has been covering the Koreas for the AP since 2014. He has published
widely read stories on North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, the dark side of South
Korea’s economic rise and international adoptions of Korean children.
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