South Korean president pressed to step down over martial law bid

SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol faced demands to resign on Wednesday after his short-lived attempt to impose martial law was voted down by lawmakers and brought thousands of protesters to the streets.

Yoon’s shock bid to impose martial law on South Korea for the first time in over four decades plunged the country into the deepest turmoil in its modern democratic history and caught its close allies around the world off guard.

The United States, which stations nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea, initially voiced deep concern at the declaration, then relief that martial law was over.

The dramatic developments have left the future of Yoon — a conservative politician and former star public prosecutor who was elected president in 2022 — in jeopardy.

South Korea’s main opposition party — whose lawmakers jumped fences and tussled with security forces so they could vote to overturn the law — demanded Yoon’s immediate resignation.

“We will file charges of insurrection,” against Yoon, his defence and interior ministers and “key military and police figures involved, such as the martial law commander and the police chief”, the Democratic Party said in a statement.

It added that it would also push for impeachment.

The nation’s largest umbrella labour union called an “indefinite general strike” until Yoon resigned.

And the leader of Yoon’s own ruling party described the attempt as “tragic” while calling for those involved to be held accountable.

Yoon stunned the world with a late-night television announcement that he was declaring martial law because of the threat of North Korea and “anti-state forces”.

More than 280 troops backed by 24 helicopters arrived at parliament to lock down the site after the extraordinary declaration.

But 190 lawmakers defied the rifle-carrying soldiers to force their way into parliament to vote against the move, leaving Yoon with no choice but to retract.

Under the constitution, martial law must be lifted when a majority in parliament demands it.

“Just a moment ago, there was a demand from the National Assembly to lift the state of emergency, and we have withdrawn the military that was deployed for martial law operations,” Yoon said in a televised address around 4:30 am (1930 GMT Tuesday).

“We will accept the National Assembly’s request and lift the martial law through the Cabinet meeting.”

Senior aides working for Yoon offered Wednesday to resign en masse over the martial law declaration.

By midday, Yoon had yet to reappear publicly.

Impeachment

The U-turn prompted jubilation among protesters outside parliament who had braved freezing temperatures to keep vigil through the night in defiance of Yoon’s martial law order.

Demonstrators who had been waving South Korean flags and chanting “Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol” outside the National Assembly erupted in cheers.

Lim Myeong-pan, 55, told AFP that Yoon’s decision to rescind martial law did not absolve him of wrongdoing.

“Yoon’s act of imposing it in the first place without legitimate cause is a serious crime in itself,” Lim told AFP.

“He has paved his own path to impeachment with this.”

With more protests expected, large numbers of police were patrolling key avenues Wednesday morning.