Summary (updated)
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday to counter “anti-state” forces, accusing opposition lawmakers of pro-North Korean sympathies.
Parliament, controlled by the opposition, quickly voted to nullify the declaration, calling it unconstitutional.
Protesters and lawmakers denounced Yoon’s move as authoritarian, echoing South Korea’s pre-democracy era.
Military personnel withdrew following the vote, and Yoon promised to lift martial law after a Cabinet meeting.
Critics warned of democratic backsliding. This marks South Korea’s first martial law declaration since democratization in 1987.
You’d think a military staffed by citizen conscripts would balk at something like this. Hopefully they hang the leaders out to dry before they decide they’ve got nothing to lose by couping.