South Korean president declares emergency martial law

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in an unannounced late-night TV address on Tuesday and was immediately met with defiance from opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly.

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol backed down early Wednesday after he tossed his country into turmoil for six hours by suddenly declaring martial law and mobilizing the army.

Yoon did so in the face of nationwide defiance that erupted 155 minutes after he announced in a late-night TV address Tuesday that he was taking over.

Members of parliament raced to the National Assembly building, and, with 190 of its 300 members present, they quickly passed a resolution demanding that Yoon lift his order while protesters opposed to martial law gathered outside the building and the nation's powerful unions threatened to go on strike.

Facing opposition from much of the country and even from the leadership of his own People Power Party, Yoon went back on national television to reverse his martial law declaration.

“I have accepted the decision made by the National Assembly to dissolve and lift the martial law,” Yoon said around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday local time (2:30 p.m. Tuesday ET).

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/south-korean-martial-law-emergency-rcna182606

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