MPs and protesters quickly voiced opposition to the most serious challenge to the country’s democracy since the 1980s.
President Yoon said opposition parties have taken hostage of parliament.South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Wednesday he would lift a martial law declaration he had imposed just hours before, backing down in a standoff with parliament which rejected his attempt to ban political activity and censor the media.
Protesters outside parliament shouted and clapped. “We won!” they chanted. One demonstrator banged on a drum. The crisis in a country that has been a democracy since the 1980s, and is a US ally and major Asian economy, caused international alarm. Earlier, live television footage showed helmeted troops apparently tasked with imposing martial law attempting to enter the assembly building, and parliamentary aides were seen trying to push the soldiers back by spraying fire extinguishers.
Yoon did not cite any specific threat from the nuclear-armed North, instead focusing on his domestic political opponents. It is the first time since 1980 that martial law has been declared in South Korea. The United States is in contact with the South Korean government and is monitoring the situation closely, a White House spokesperson said.
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