Yonhap reported that President Yoon Suk Yeol's cabinet approved the end of martial law at 4:30 a.m. local time, about 6 hours after he declared a state of emergency, 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.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the army, which was mobilized to implement martial law, had returned to the base.
"At 11am last night, I declared an emergency martial law with the intention of resolutely saving the country from the anti-state forces that are trying to paralyze the essential functions of the country and the constitutional order of a free democracy," said Mr. Yoon Suk Yeol.
"But the National Assembly requested the lifting of martial law and I withdrew the troops mobilized to carry out martial law issues," the president added.
Yoon Suk Yeol reiterated his call for the National Assembly to end "unreasonable" activities that he said paralyzed national functions, including attempts to impeach government officials.
South Korean National Assembly Chairman Woo Won-sik chaired the session and stressed that declaring martial law was beyond everyone's wishes. The National Assembly needs to take urgent measures to respond to this situation.
The plenary session of the National Assembly of South Korea was attended by 190 lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties. 100% of 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 deputies. The National Assembly currently has 300 members.
After lifting martial law, members of the opposition increased criticism of Mr. Yoon Suk Yeol, some even threatened to initiate a move to impeach the president.
Hwang Un-ha, leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, expressed his intention to promote the impeachment move, criticizing the military mobilization after this rare declaration of martial law.
The declaration of martial law has shocked the country and the world. US officials have expressed "deep concern" and emphasized Washington's hope that any "political" dispute in South Korea will be resolved " peacefully".
"We are monitoring 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-Korea alliance is still "stable as a ban", but called for a " peaceful" solution.
"I would also like to emphasize that we hope and expect any political dispute to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the law, we will have more to say as the situation progresses," Mr. Campbell said.
"We are relieved that President Yoon Suk Yeol reversed the decision to declare a worrying martial law and respect the National Assembly's vote to end martial law. Democracy is the foundation of the US-Korea alliance and we will continue to monitor the situation."
