South Korean state council passes resolution lifting martial law

(LONDON) — The South Korean State Council passed a resolution to officially lift martial law, according to the South Korean Prime Minister’s office.

Shortly before the vote, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said troops have been withdrawn, hours after he declared an “emergency martial law.”

Yoon had declared martial law in a televised speech late Tuesday, the Yonhap news agency reported. The president said the measure was necessary due to the actions of the country’s liberal opposition, the Democratic Party, which he accused of controlling parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government.

The move sparked protests, and hours after the declaration, the National Assembly voted early Wednesday morning local time demanding that the president lift the martial law order. A majority of parliament — all 190 members who were present, out of the 300-person body — voted to lift the decree — requiring that it then be lifted, under the South Korean constitution.

Following the National Assembly’s vote, Yoon said he withdrew the troops that had been deployed to carry out martial law and “will lift martial law as soon as we have a quorum in the cabinet.” The State Council then convened to vote to officially lift it.

The country’s Democratic Party called on Yoon to resign following what it called the “fundamentally invalid” declaration of martial law. The opposition party said it will begin impeachment proceedings if the president doesn’t resign.

“This is a serious act of rebellion and perfect grounds for impeachment,” a Democratic Party spokesperson said in a statement after martial law was lifted.

Explaining his decision to declare martial law on Tuesday, Yoon accused the opposition-dominated parliament of “paralyzing” judicial affairs and the administration via 22 proposed cases of impeachment issued since the body convened in June.

After withdrawing the troops, he continued to call out the National Assembly, urging parliament to “immediately stop the outrageous behavior that is paralyzing the functioning of the country with impeachments, legislative manipulation and budget manipulation.”

Yoon’s conservative People Power Party has been locked in a fierce budget dispute with the liberal opposition Democratic Party.

“The handling of the national budget also cut all major budgets to have control over the essential functions of the state, the budget that was formed to crack down on drug crimes and maintain public security,” Yoon said Tuesday. “This undermines the essential functions of the state and leaves the public in a drug paradise and public security panic.”

“The National Assembly, which should be the basis of liberal democracy, has become a monster that collapses the liberal democracy system,” he added.

Following the declaration of martial law, the Democratic Party called on its lawmakers to assemble at the National Assembly building in Seoul, Yonhap reported. Party leader Lee Jae-myung said Yoon’s martial law declaration was an “unconstitutional” measure that “goes against the people.”

“President Yoon declared emergency martial law for no reason,” Lee said, as quoted by Yonhap.

Police and soldiers gathered around the National Assembly on Tuesday night after Yoon spoke. Footage from the scene also showed crowds descending on the building, some people making their way inside. Yonhap reported clashes between security personnel and National Assembly staffers as the former tried to enter the building.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon — a member of Yoon’s People Power Party — was among those who called for an immediate reversal of the declaration. “As mayor, I will do my best to protect the daily lives of citizens,” he added in a post to Facebook.

President Joe Biden’s administration was not alerted of the declaration beforehand, according to the White House National Security Council.

“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,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson told ABC News in a statement. “Democracy is at the foundation of the U.S.-ROK alliance, and we will continue to monitor the situation.”

Biden told reporters he was “just getting briefed” on the martial law declaration, following a speech in Angola on Tuesday evening local time.

His administration is in contact with the South Korean government, the White House National Security Council said.

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul warned Americans in the country that “the situation remains fluid” in the wake of martial law being lifted.

“U.S. citizens should anticipate potential disruptions,” the Embassy said in a security alert. “When in public, you should pay attention to your surroundings and exercise routine safety precautions.”

Tuesday’s martial law declaration marked the first since the country’s democratization in 1987. Martial law was last declared in 1979 after the assassination of dictator Park Chung Hee.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story was updated to reflect that Yoon had withdrawn troops but martial law had not yet been lifted.

ABC News’ Will Gretsky, Joe Simonetti, Fritz Farrow and Shannon K. Kingston contributed to this report.