The Cabinet early Wednesday approved of a motion to lift the emergency martial law declared by President Yoon Suk Yeol six hours earlier.
Yoon announced in a public address at the Yongsan presidential office at 4:27 a.m. Wednesday that he will hold a Cabinet meeting to lift the emergency martial law.
He said in the second public address in six hours that troops deployed to carry out the martial law decree have been withdrawn.
“At 11 p.m. last night, I declared martial law with a resolute will to save the country against antistate forces that are trying to paralyze the essential functions of the country and destroy the constitutional order of liberal democracy,” said Yoon in a televised address early Wednesday.
Yoon said that a Cabinet meeting will be soon held to officially lift his emergency martial law decree.He added that “legislative manipulation, movement for impeachment and other outrageous acts” should come to a halt.”
The Cabinet approved the parliamentary motion to lift martial law at around 4:30 a.m., the prime minister’s office said.
On Tuesday night, Yoon unexpectedly declared emergency martial law to eradicate “antistate forces.”
This marks the first time in 44 years that martial law has been declared in South Korea.
The motion was passed early Wednesday with all 190 lawmakers present in favor. This included 18 conservative People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers in a 300-seat parliament controlled by the liberal Democratic Party (DP).
The vote came as police barred the parliament complex gates and military troops entered the building while hundreds of people gathered outside to protest the decree.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that troops sent to the National Assembly withdrew as of 4:22 a.m., adding that no unusual movement from North Korea has been detected.
BY SARAH KIM, LIM JEONG-WON [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
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