In another twist of events, South Korea’s President Yoon has lifted martial law, which he had declared in a surprise TV broadcast just hours before. The decision comes after the National Assembly’s vote to reject his attempt to ban political activity and censor the media.
Following an unanimous vote to reject the President’s decree, his own cabinet agreed to scrap the declaration of martial law. Though the outcry from the opposition Democratic Party and its leaders came as no surprise, not even the President’s own party supported his decision. Under South Korean law, the president must lift martial law if parliament votes to reject it.
The news came as a surprise to many of South Korea’s allies, including the US. The White House later issued a statement that it was pleased with Yoon’s decision to back down.
Yoon’s actions came on the tails of his party’s landslide defeat at the parliamentary elections in April this year where they lost control of the National Assembly to opposition parties who won nearly two-thirds of the seats. Since then, Yoon has become what is effectively a lame duck president. He addressed as much during his declaration of martial law, claiming that the opposition party had brought the government to a standstill by refusing to pass any bill brought to parliament by his administration. He also claimed that the opposition had continuously sought to impeach his cabinet members and allies. The first lady has also been a target of the opposition party’s attacks in recent months.
Yoon’s move will likely lower his approval rating, which already hovers around 20%.
South Korea has a long history of military coups and declarations of martial law. The most recent event was in 1980, when officers led by Chun Doo-hwan forced then-Acting President Choi Kyu-hah to declare martial law to crush the opposition and student-led movements. Later that year, Chun’s government would be responsible for the massacre of protesters at the infamous Gwangju Uprisings.
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