Martial law has been declared and quickly lifted in South Korea after President Yoon Suk Yeol accused opposition politicians of “anti-state” activities.
Soldiers were called in to keep the peace after protesters massed outside the National Assembly and took to the streets of the capital Seoul in the wake of the President’s shock declaration of martial law for the first time in the East Asian country in 44 years.
Politicians voted unanimously to block the measure, which was announced in a late-night television address by Yoon, who said it was “critical for defending the country’s constitutional order”.
Just hours later, the President announced the lifting of martial law, which allows military control of activities including law enforcement and the suspension of civilian rights during an emergency or crisis.
Yoon earlier said the declaration had been intended to safeguard a “liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements”.
He accused South Korea’s parliamentary opposition of sympathising with its northern neighbour, with which it is still technically at war because no peace agreement was signed in 1953 when hostilities ceased.
“This is an unavoidable measure to ensure the freedom and safety of the people and guarantee the sustainability of the nation against the unrest stirred by these subversive, anti-state elements,” Yoon was quoted as saying in a live televised address.
But he backed down later, saying the state of emergency had been lifted and the military withdrawn from martial law operations following a demand from the National Assembly.
South Korea was last subject to martial law in 1980 when troops were sent in to quell violent protests after the military took control of the government in a coup.
