South Korean parliament shuts down Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law order

All lawmakers present during the emergency late-night session voted against it.

In a vote of 190 out of the 300 members of South Korea’s National Assembly, the body ruled to shut down the martial law order put forward by its president Yoon Suk Yeol.

The opposition, Democratic Party, controls over 170 seats in the parliament. The leader, Yoon’s 2022 election rival Lee Jae Myung has called the move of the incumbent president “unconstitutional.”

Apart from that, from within his own People Power Party, Yoon Suk Yeol’s move has been criticized, with Han Dong Hoon calling the order “wrong.”

Right after the assembly announced that it has overturned the order, the military that have entered the complex have been seen leaving the area in live pictures from the Korean media.

Protesters have also gathered outside the institution, chanting their call to lift the emergency martial law.

At present, Yoon has not yet responded to the latest development.

Yoon Suk Yeol declares emergency martial law in South Korea

This declaration is the first time that martial law has been imposed in South Korea since the dictatorship under former President Chun Doo Hwan in 1980.

Yoon Suk Yeol, 64, was elected in March 2022 after garnering more than 16.3 million votes, over 200,000 more against his rival Lee Jae Myung.

Since then, his public approval rating continued to dip, with latest surveys saying that he now only stands at 19%.

Many are critical of his handling of multiple domestic affairs like the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush, the crisis in the medical field, which has resulted to strikes from many workers in the sector, and the corruption allegations thrown at him.

Yoon’s party also suffered the consequences, as during the 2024 parliamentary elections, they only mustered to secure 103 seats, while the opposition Democratic party won as the majority party in the assembly with 173 seats.

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