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The Biden administration welcomed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s decision to lift his surprise martial law decree after less than half a day.
“We are relieved President Yoon has reversed course on his concerning declaration of martial law and respected the ROK National Assembly’s vote to end it,” a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council (NSC) said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, using the abbreviation for the Republic of Korea.
“Democracy is at the foundation of the U.S.–ROK alliance, and we will continue to monitor the situation,” the NSC spokesperson added.
Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People Power Party—of which President Yoon Suk Yeol is a member—has distanced the party from the president’s decision-making.
“As the ruling party, I apologize to the people for today’s dire situation,” Han said in remarks shared by South Korea’s Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper shortly after the president reversed his martial law decree.
Han said South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun had recommended the martial law decree, and should immediately be dismissed for the decision.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol just announced that he is lifting his martial law order, hours after the country’s parliament voted to block the measure.
"I have accepted the decision made by the National Assembly to dissolve and lift the martial law,” Yoon said during a televised address from the presidential office in Yongsan. He added that martial law will be lifted through the State Council.
"The troops deployed for martial law affairs have been withdrawn."
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said there have been no changes in the defensive posture for U.S. forces deployed in South Korea.
At a Tuesday press briefing, Ryder was also asked if there were any indications that North Korea may take advantage of the unrest in South Korea. Ryder indicated he was unaware of any emerging threat from across the armistice line.
“Of course, we're closely monitoring the situation, but I'm not aware of any force posture changes,” the Pentagon spokesman said.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law has now been disavowed by his own political party.
Han Dong-hoon, the leader of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, said the move was “wrong” and pledged to “stop it with the people.”
His comments follow the National Assembly’s unanimous vote to lift the declaration.
South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who has condemned President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law orders, has recently been at the center of a legal battle.
The former presidential candidate, who likened himself to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Lee was convicted two weeks ago of violating election law and was sentenced to a one-year suspended prison term.
While Yoon has tried to steer his country closer to the United States, reversing the country’s yearslong trend of appeasing Beijing, Lee has taken a more friendly stance toward the Chinese regime.
WASHINGTON—The United States didn't receive advance notice that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was declaring martial law, according to State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel.
The South Korean parliament has since overridden the martial law order.
The U.S. commitment to South Korea is “ironclad” amid the situation, said Patel during a press briefing.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he will lift a martial law decree instituted about six hours earlier in a late-night announcement. The country’s parliament had voted to lift the declaration hours after the declaration.
Here’s what to know:
President Joe Biden said he is being kept up to date on the situation in South Korea, where President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, after which the parliament unanimously overturned the order.
Biden is currently in Angola.
The United States has said it is monitoring the situation with “grave concern.”
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that the Biden administration is watching events in South Korea with "grave concern."
Speaking at the State Department, Campbell said that President Joe Biden, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are being kept apprised of the situation as it develops.
"We're seeking to engage our [South Korean] counterparts at every level, both here and in Seoul," Campbell said.
Philip Goldberg, U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Korea, said officials are closely monitoring the unfolding unrest following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law.
“The U.S. Embassy and Department of State are closely tracking President Yoon’s recent declaration of martial law,” Goldberg wrote in a brief post on social media platform X.
“The situation is fluid. Please monitor local news sources for updates as the situation progresses and sign up here to receive direct updates from the Department of State,” he added, linking to the State Department website.
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration on Dec. 3 was the first since South Korea adopted a new constitution in October 1987.
The authority to invoke martial law is laid out in Article 77 of the constitution. It states the president may invoke martial law in accordance with the country’s Martial Law Act.
Article 2, Paragraph 5 of the Martial Law Act states that when the president wishes to declare or amend a martial law declaration, he must first undergo deliberation with the State Council of South Korea, which acts as the president’s Cabinet.
South Korean troops are withdrawing from the parliament building, according to video posted on social media.
Military personnel were stationed at the parliament building in attempts to prevent lawmakers from overturning President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law. However, lawmakers made their way into the building and unanimously voted to undo the order.
Protesters clashed with troops outside the parliament building.
The South Korean military said the martial law order will remain in effect until President Yoon Suk Yeol lifts it, according to South Korean news outlet YTN.
Parliament had just unanimously voted to overturn the order.
Yoon declared martial law during an overnight address, claiming that the opposition was sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing government.
The Biden administration is in contact with the South Korean government, though details on the level and depth of that contact remain vague.
"The administration is in contact with the ROK government and is monitoring the situation closely," a Pentagon official told The Epoch Times.
The Pentagon referred The Epoch Times to the National Security Council (NSC) for further questions. An NSC spokesperson delivered the same comment.
Protests continue outside parliament as the legislative body voted to overturn the martial law declared by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, according to TV coverage.
Police have clashed with the protesters. Lawmakers and their aides fought their way through to get into the parliament. Police relented as lawmakers persevered and entered the legislative chamber.
Gen. Park An-su, the chief of staff of the Army of the Republic of Korea, is leading the martial law command.
Park issued martial law instructions, which state:
- All political activities, including the activities of the National Assembly, local councils, and political parties, political associations, rallies, and demonstrations, are prohibited.
- All acts that deny or attempt to overthrow the liberal democratic system are prohibited, and fake news, public opinion manipulation, and false propaganda are prohibited.
- All media and publications are subject to the control of the Martial Law Command.
- Strikes, work stoppages, and rallies that incite social chaos are prohibited.
- All medical personnel, including trainee doctors, who are on strike or have left the medical field must return to their jobs within 48 hours and work faithfully. Those who violate will be punished in accordance with the Martial Law.
- Innocent ordinary citizens, excluding anti-state forces and other subversive forces, will be subject to measures to minimize inconvenience in their daily lives.
Reuters contributed to this report.
South Korea's parliament, with 190 of its 300 members present, passed a motion on Wednesday requiring the martial law declared by President Yoon Suk Yeol to be lifted, live TV showed.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in a late-night address broadcast on South Korea’s YTN news channel on Dec. 3.
Yoon, a member of the country’s People Power party, said martial law was necessary because his political opposition, which controls South Korea’s national assembly, had hindered government work.
“They are paralyzing the judiciary by intimidating judges and impeaching a large number of prosecutors, and even paralyzing the executive branch by impeaching the minister of public administration and security, the chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, the chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, and the minister of national defense,” Yoon said.
The South Korean president further accused his political opposition of sympathizing with communist North Korea.
“I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order,” Yoon said.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung called the martial law declaration “illegal and unconstitutional” and called on South Korean citizens to gather at the national assembly in opposition.
Yoon won office in 2022 but has struggled since then to advance his agenda through the opposition-controlled National Assembly.
The South Korean president has recently clashed with the opposition over the national budget. He has also rebuffed calls for investigations into his wife’s stock trading activities and allegations she has accepted luxury gifts.
It’s not clear how long Yoon’s martial law declaration can last. Under South Korean law, martial law orders can be lifted with a majority vote in the parliament. However, the martial law proclamation states that political activities, including those of the National Assembly, are currently prohibited.
The martial law proclamation also impacts news publications in the country.