South Korea’s Yoon to lift martial law order
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he will lift his martial law decree, just hours after his surprise move to impose it.
Yoon's surprise declaration of martial law, which moved to ban political activity and censor the media, was unanimously voted down by 190 lawmakers in the parliament. His own party also urged him to lift the decree.
Under South Korean law, the president must immediately lift martial law if parliament demands it by a majority vote.
The Korean won and South Korea-linked ETFs trimmed declines after the Yoon's reversal.
What they said: "At 11pm last night, I declared martial law with a firm will to save the country against anti-state forces that are trying to paralyse the essential functions of the state and destroy the constitutional order of liberal democracy," Yoon said in a statement, reported by Bloomberg.
"However, I withdrew the troops deployed for martial law affairs due to the National Assembly’s demand for the lifting of martial law.
"I will accept the National Assembly’s demand and lift the martial law through a Cabinet meeting.
"I immediately called a Cabinet meeting but the quorum for resolution has not been met yet as it’s early hours. I will lift the martial law as soon as they arrive.
"However, I request the National Assembly to immediately stop the reckless acts of paralysing the functions of the state through repeated impeachments, legislative manipulation and budget manipulation."
South Korea’s president declares first martial law since 1980
The news: South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law in an emergency televised address, accusing the opposition of paralysing governance and supporting pro-North Korea forces.
The context: It is the first martial law declaration in the Asian nation since 1980.
Yoon said it was necessary to protect constitutional order, with political activities, strikes and media freedoms now restricted under martial law, according to Yonhap News.
The move comes amid a heated political environment in South Korea, with Yoon facing consistent opposition since taking office in 2022.
He is using martial law to counter opposition-led actions he claims are paralysing governance.
The Democratic Party (DP), which controls parliament, recently rejected Yoon's budget proposal and filed impeachment motions against top prosecutors.
DP’s leader Lee Jae-myung, convicted last month of election-law violations, has condemned the declaration, warning of economic collapse and urging public resistance.
The numbers: The won plunged to its lowest since 2022, trading at 1,435.43 per dollar, down 2.04%, with South Korea-linked ETFs also falling sharply.
The MSCI South Korea ETF plunged over 4% and the Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF was down 3.7%.
