President Yoon Suk Yeol's Cabinet approved the end of martial law at 4:30 a.m. local time, about six hours after he issued a surprise emergency declaration, accusing the country's opposition of "paralyzing" the government with "anti-state" activities - a decision that has caused concern across the country and the world, Yonhap reported.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said troops mobilized to enforce martial law have returned to base.
"At 11 p.m. last night, I declared an emergency martial law with the intention of resolutely saving the country from anti-state forces that are trying to paralyze the essential functions of the state and the constitutional order of free democracy," Yoon Suk Yeol said.
"But Congress asked to lift martial law and I withdrew the troops mobilized to implement martial law issues," the President added.
Mr. Yoon Suk Yeol reiterated his call for the National Assembly to stop "unreasonable" activities that he said paralyze national functions, including efforts to impeach government officials.
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. 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 the National Assembly. The South Korean National Assembly currently has 300 members.
After the lifting of martial law, members of the opposition bloc increased criticism of Yoon Suk Yeol, with some even threatening to initiate impeachment proceedings against the president.
Hwang Un-ha, leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, expressed his intention to push for impeachment, criticizing the mobilization of military personnel following the rare declaration of martial law.
The declaration of martial law sent shockwaves across the country and the world, with US officials expressing “deep concern” and stressing Washington’s hope that any “political” disputes in South Korea would be resolved “peacefully”.
"We are watching recent developments in South Korea with deep concern," US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said at a public event.
Mr Campbell noted that the US-South Korea alliance remains “rock solid”, but called for a “peaceful” solution.
"I also want to stress that we hope and expect any political dispute to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the law, and we will have more to say as the situation develops," Mr Campbell said.
"We are relieved that President Yoon Suk Yeol has reversed his decision to declare martial law and honored the National Assembly's vote to end martial law," a spokesman for the US National Security Council said in a statement. "Democracy is the cornerstone of the US-ROK alliance and we will continue to monitor the situation."
