South Korean lawmakers block President Yoon's martial law decree as thousands protest

Hours after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law , South Korean lawmakers voted on Tuesday to block the decree.

According to a CNN report, a total of 190 lawmakers in the 300-seat National Assembly voted to overturn the measure.

It remains unclear how the vote will impact the martial law declaration, as South Korean law requires the president to comply with the vote, added the report.

The chair of the National Assembly Woo Won-sik said that the emergency martial law declaration is “invalid”.

“The President should immediately lift the emergency martial law following the voting by the National Assembly” CNN quoted Won-sik as saying.

“Now, emergency martial law declaration is invalid,” he said.

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“The people should … rest easy, the National Assembly will defend democracy with the people,” he added.

Declaring martial law, Yoon accused the opposition of being “anti-state forces” and said he was acting to protect the country from “threats” posed by the North.

Late Tuesday night, the National Assembly was sealed off, and helicopters were seen landing on the roof as Army Chief General Park An-su assumed control as martial law commander, immediately issuing a decree banning “all political activities.”

Troops were seen trying to enter the parliament after President Yoon declared martial law.

According to Reuters, live television footage showed troops apparently tasked with imposing martial law attempting to enter the assembly building, and parliamentary aides were seen trying to push the soldiers back by spraying fire extinguishers.

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Hundreds of protesters gathered outside parliament, demanding entry, while police secured the building and special forces attempted to intervene.

As a key US ally in Asia, democratic South Korea’s situation is being closely watched, with a spokesperson for the US National Security Council saying that Washington is “monitoring the situation closely.”

Yoon’s dramatic declaration of martial law — the first in South Korea in over 40 years — came amid tensions between his party and the opposition over the national budget.

“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation.

Yoon did not give details of the North’s threats, but the South remains technically at war with nuclear-armed Pyongyang.

“With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralysed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice,” Yoon added.

“Our National Assembly has become a haven for criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyse the judicial and administrative systems and overturn our liberal democratic order,” Yoon said.

With martial law imposed, all military units in the South have been ordered to strengthen their emergency alert and readiness postures, Yonhap news agency reported.

China, a key ally of North Korea, urged its nationals in the South to stay calm and exercise caution.

With inputs from agencies