South Korea's parliament on Tuesday rescinded President Yun Seok-Yeol's sudden declaration of martial law, hours after she claimed in a late-night television broadcast that she would eradicate “shameless pro-North Korea anti-national forces.” In the country.
In response to Yoon's order, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik declared that the members would “protect democracy together with the people.'' South Korea's constitution requires the president to lift martial law by a majority vote at the request of Congress.
Critics argue that Mr. Yoon's decision to impose martial law was actually motivated by concerns about domestic political opponents, rather than any specific threat from a nuclear-armed enemy to South Korea's north.
In a speech on Tuesday, he argued that he had to resort to drastic measures to protect constitutional order and accused rival parties of holding the parliamentary process hostage and plunging South Korea into crisis.
Seoul has been a democracy for 40 years, but throughout its history there have been a number of authoritarian leaders who have declared martial law. The last time a crackdown on domestic pro-democracy protests was declared was in 1980.
Parliament's vote to lift martial law was unanimous, and the soldiers stationed at Parliament left the scene after the vote.
