Troops were seen attempting to enter South Korea's parliament on Wednesday after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in a surprise late-night TV address that lambasted domestic political opponents and sent shockwaves across the nation.
According to live television footage, forces entrusted with enforcing martial law attempted to enter the assembly building, and parliamentary assistants were seen spraying fire extinguishers to push them back.
On Tuesday night, Yoon said that opposition parties were holding up the parliamentary procedure. He threatened to eliminate "shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces" and said that he had no alternative but to take the action to maintain constitutional order.
Meanwhile, with 190 of its 300 members present, South Korea's parliament passed a motion calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law to be lifted.
Shortly after Yoon's declaration, protestors began gathering outside the parliament building, yelling, "Withdraw emergency martial law!" The military stated that activity by parliament and political parties would be prohibited, and that the media and publishers would be under martial law command.
Yoon did not mention a specific threat from the nuclear-armed North, instead focussing on his internal political opponents. South Korea has imposed martial law for the first time since 1980.
South Korea has experienced a number of authoritarian dictators throughout its history, although it has been deemed democratic since the 1980s.
The Korean won fell dramatically versus the US dollar. A central bank official stated that it was planning measures to steady the market if necessary. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok has called an emergency meeting of key economic officials, his spokesperson stated via text message.
Yoon's predecessor, Democratic Party leader Moon Jae-in, stated in a post on X that the country's democracy is in peril. "I hope that the National Assembly will act quickly to protect our democracy from crumbling," he stated in a Facebook message.
"I ask the people to join forces to protect and save democracy and to help the National Assembly function normally."
The United States is in communication with the South Korean government and actively monitoring the situation, according to a White House official.
The United States has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea to guard against the North. A spokeswoman for the US military headquarters did not respond to numerous phone calls.
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