Lawmakers from South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party (DP) managed to defy a lockdown on parliamentary headquarters to table a motion that would invalidate President Yoon Suk-yeol’s declaration of martial law at roughly 1:00 a.m. local time – even as armed soldiers smashed through the windows of the building and moved to clear the assembly floor.
Yoon declared martial law on Tuesday for the first time since the 1980s, citing the menace of “subversive anti-state elements” in the legislature who were blocking his administration’s agenda. Yoon denounced the opposition as “unscrupulous” and “pro-Pyongyang.”
The leader of Yoon’s own People Power Party (PPP) opposed Yoon’s declaration of martial law, while DP leader Lee Jae-myung urged the South Korean military to ignore Yoon’s orders.
“From this moment on, Mr. Yoon is no longer the president of South Korea,” Lee declared.
Yoon’s orders suspended all political activity in South Korea until further notice, but DP lawmakers raced into the parliament building and urged colleagues to join them, even as police and military forces surrounded the building to lock it down. Military helicopters were seen buzzing over the National Assembly building as soldiers prepared to break down the barricaded doors.
According to Korea Joongang Daily (KJD), matters came to a head at 12:47 a.m., when DP lawmakers voted on their motion to lift martial law, just as soldiers were breaking through the windows.
The voting process continued to its completion at 1:01 a.m. local time, as the 190 lawmakers present in the National Assembly building voted unanimously to overturn martial law. The speaker’s office promptly declared Yoon’s order “null and void.”
Speaker Woo Won-shik then asked all soldiers and police to leave the building. Observers reported the helicopters departed, and they have reportedly done so after lingering for about half an hour.
“If the President does not abide by the results of the motion passed at the National Assembly it is clear treason and an illegal act,” legislator Cho Kuk declared, adding that Yoon’s impeachment will now be on the table.
Cho asked prosecutors to arrest President Yoon and his defense minister, Kim Yong-hyun, immediately.
Under South Korean law, the legislature does have the legal authority to rescind an order of martial law. Han Dong-hoon, the leader of Yoon’s PPP, agreed that martial law “has lost effect” following the National Assembly vote.
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