South Korean president lifts martial law after parliament requests

Early morning on December 4 local time, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced the lifting of martial law.

Local media reported that President Yoon convened a cabinet meeting to approve the decision to lift martial law, which was declared on the evening of December 3. President Yoon's move came hours after the country's National Assembly passed a resolution requesting the lifting of martial law.

The South Korean cabinet approved the move to end martial law at 4:30 a.m. on December 4, about six hours after martial law was declared.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said soldiers deployed to enforce martial law have returned to base, restoring normalcy.

The last time South Korea declared martial law was in 1979 after the assassination of President Park Chung-hee on October 26.

Earlier, in the early morning of December 4 (local time), the South Korean National Assembly passed a resolution requesting the lifting of martial law declared by President Yoon Suk-yeol on the evening of December 3.

South Korean National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik chaired the session and stressed that the declaration of martial law was beyond the wishes of everyone. The National Assembly needed to take urgent measures to deal with the situation.

The plenary session of the South Korean National Assembly was attended by 190 lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties. As a result, 100% of the lawmakers present unanimously approved the request to lift martial law.

The South Korean Constitution stipulates that martial law must be lifted immediately if requested by a majority of National Assembly members.

The Office of the National Assembly Chairman declared martial law "ineffective" after the resolution to lift martial law was passed.