Soldiers try to enter the National Assembly building in Seoul on December 4 2024, after South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. Jung Yeon-je, AFP

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:900px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1733260811386MARTIAL LAW.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Soldiers try to enter the National Assembly building in Seoul on December 4 2024, after South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. Jung Yeon-je, AFP</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol abandoned a short-lived attempt at martial law on Wednesday, reversing course after lawmakers defied security forces to vote against his declaration and thousands of protesters took to the streets.</p><p><br id="isPasted"/>Yoon&#x27;s shock bid to impose South Korea&#x27;s first martial law in over four decades plunged the country into its deepest turmoil in its modern democratic history and caught even South Korea&#x27;s closest allies around the world off guard.</p><p><br/>It also left the future of Yoon -- a conservative politician and former star public prosecutor who was elected president in 2022 -- in jeopardy.</p><p><br/>South Korea&#x27;s main opposition party -- whose lawmakers jumped fences and tussled with security forces so they could vote to overturn the law -- demanded Yoon to step down immediately over the attempted &quot;insurrection&quot;.</p><p><br/>The nation&#x27;s largest umbrella labour union also called an &quot;indefinite general strike&quot; until Yoon resigned.</p><p><br/>And the leader of Yoon&#x27;s own ruling party even described the attempt as &quot;tragic&quot; while calling for those involved to be held accountable.</p><p><br/>Yoon backed down after lawmakers voted to oppose the declaration, which he made late on Tuesday night citing the threat of North Korea and &quot;anti-state forces&quot;.</p><p><br/>&quot;Just a moment ago, there was a demand from the National Assembly to lift the state of emergency, and we have withdrawn the military that was deployed for martial law operations,&quot; Yoon said in a televised address around 4:30 a.m. (3:30 a.m. in Manila).</p><p><br/>&quot;We will accept the National Assembly&#x27;s request and lift the martial law through the Cabinet meeting.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2024/12/3/south-korean-military-says-martial-law-will-remain-until-lifted-by-president-0204">South Korean military says martial law will remain until lifted by president</a></div><div><br/></div><p>Yonhap news agency then reported that Yoon&#x27;s cabinet had approved the motion to lift the order.</p><p><br id="isPasted"/>The U-turn prompted jubilation among protesters outside parliament who had braved freezing temperatures to keep vigil through the night in defiance of Yoon&#x27;s martial law order.</p><p><br/>Demonstrators who had been waving South Korean flags and chanting &quot;Arrest Yoon Sul Yeol&quot; outside the National Assembly erupted in cheers.</p><p><br/>Lim Myeong-pan, 55, told AFP that Yoon&#x27;s decision to rescind martial law did not absolve him of wrongdoing.</p><p><br/>&quot;Yoon&#x27;s act of imposing it in the first place without legitimate cause is a serious crime in itself,” Lim told AFP.</p><p><br/>&quot;He has paved his own path to impeachment with this.&quot;</p><p><br/>Defying security forces, 190 lawmakers managed to get in to the assembly in the early hours of Wednesday and unanimously voted to oppose martial law. Under the constitution, martial law must be lifted when a majority in parliament demands it.</p><div><br/><br/></div><div><strong>INTERNATIONAL CONCERN</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><p>Yoon had given a range of reasons to justify martial law -- South Korea&#x27;s first in more than 40 years.</p><p>&quot;To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea&#x27;s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people&#x27;s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law,&quot; Yoon said in a live televised address late on Tuesday night.</p><p>Yoon did not give details of the North&#x27;s threats, but the South remains technically at war with nuclear-armed Pyongyang.</p><p>&quot;Our National Assembly has become a haven for criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyse the judicial and administrative systems and overturn our liberal democratic order,&quot; Yoon said.</p><p>Democratic South Korea is a major ally for the United States in Asia, but Washington said it was not given advance notice of Yoon&#x27;s plan to impose martial law.</p><p>&quot;We are watching the recent developments in the ROK with grave concern,&quot; Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said after martial law was imposed, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2024/12/3/us-voices-grave-concern-over-south-korea-under-martial-law-0130">US voices &#x27;grave concern&#x27; over South Korea under martial law</a></div><p>China, a key ally of North Korea, urged its nationals in the South to stay calm and exercise caution, while Britain said it was &quot;closely monitoring developments&quot;.</p><p>The decree by martial law commander Park also banned &quot;actions that deny or seek to overthrow the liberal democratic system, including the spread of fake news, public opinion manipulation, and false propaganda&quot;.</p><p>The president labelled the opposition, which holds a majority in the 300-member parliament, as &quot;anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime&quot;.</p><p>Yoon and his People Power Party are also bitterly at odds with the opposition over next year&#x27;s budget.</p><p><br id="isPasted"/>Opposition MPs last week approved a significantly downsized budget plan through a parliamentary committee.</p><p><br/>The imposition of emergency martial law came after Yoon&#x27;s approval rating dropped to 19 percent in the latest Gallup poll last week, with many expressing dissatisfaction over his handling of the economy and controversies involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee.</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><p><strong>CONCERN, RELIEF</strong><br/><br/><strong></strong><br/>Democratic South Korea is a major ally for the United States in Asia, but Washington said it was not given advance notice of Yoon&#x27;s plan to impose martial law.</p><p><br id="isPasted"/>The United States initially voiced &quot;grave concern&quot; at the declaration, then relief.</p><p><br/>&quot;We are relieved President Yoon has reversed course on his concerning declaration of martial law and respected the ROK National Assembly’s vote to end it,&quot; a National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement, using the acronym for South Korea&#x27;s official name.</p><p><br/>China, a key ally of North Korea, had urged its nationals in the South to stay calm and exercise caution, while Britain said it was &quot;closely monitoring developments&quot;.</p><p><br/>Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korea studies at the University of Oslo, said Yoon&#x27;s move to impose martial law was &quot;an attempt to wind the history back&quot;.</p><p><br/>&quot;I don&#x27;t think South Korea&#x27;s civil society can recognise Yoon as a legitimate president any longer,&quot; he told AFP.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2024/12/3/timeline-south-korea-s-yoon-suk-yeol-declares-martial-law-0120">TIMELINE: South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday he would lift martial law, just hours after imposing it in a bid to quell what he called "anti-state forces".</p>

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday he would lift martial law, just hours after imposing it in a bid to quell what he called "anti-state forces".

South Korean president abandons martial law attempt | ABS-CBN

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South Korean president abandons martial law attempt

South Korean president abandons martial law attempt

Agence France-Presse

Published Dec 04, 2024 05:25 AM PHT

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Updated Dec 04, 2024 07:46 AM PHT

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