South Korea President Declares Martial Law, Then Backs Down

SEOUL, South Korea – President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea declared emergency martial law Tuesday night, then reversed himself hours later as thousands of protesters flooded the streets, capping an extraordinary night of tumult in the deeply divided country.

The threat of military rule brought political chaos to one of America’s closest allies in Asia and carried echoes of South Korea’s postwar years of military rule and political violence.

But Yoon’s gambit appeared to quickly backfire, leaving his political future uncertain and the opposition baying for his impeachment.

His announcement imposing martial law, at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, immediately raised questions over whether the president could commandeer such a highly developed industrialized democracy.

Before dawn Wednesday, those questions appeared to be answered.

The National Assembly quickly passed a resolution demanding an end to martial law, and Yoon backed down, saying he would lift his emergency declaration just 51/2 hours after he had issued it.

Martial law was formally lifted at a Cabinet meeting early Wednesday.

Yoon did not immediately comment on his political future, only reiterating his demand that the opposition stop using its parliamentary majority to “paralyze” his government.

Opposition lawmakers demanded he step down, calling his martial law “unconstitutional” and a “failed coup.”

The National Assembly can impeach the president if more than two-thirds of the Assembly vote for it. Yoon’s party controls just 108 seats in the 300-member legislature. Thousands of people have held weekend rallies in downtown Seoul in recent months, calling for Yoon’s impeachment, accusing him of incompetence, corruption and abuse of power.

The martial law declaration sent thousands of protesters into the frigid night, gathering at the National Assembly building and chanting for the president’s arrest and removal. Chaotic scenes captured on video showed military vehicles thronged by protesters and South Korean troops climbing through windows to enter the National Assembly where opposition politicians were gathering.

The lawmakers, in a swift rebuke of the president’s order, then adopted a resolution demanding that martial law be lifted. The South Korean act on martial law states that if the assembly demands an end to it, the president must lift it “without delay.”