South Korean president to end martial law after parliament votes to block decree: As it happened

South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has said he will lift martial law after he convenes a cabinet meeting expected to take place within hours. The U-turn comes after lawmakers voted unanimously to block the measure as protesters gathered outside the National Assembly. Yoon also said that the military had been withdrawn from around the building.

The president came under massive pressure from both his own party and the opposition after the shock decision to impose martial law on Tuesday night.

Former South Korean Foreign Minister Kyung-wha Kang has told CNN that Tuesday’s declaration of martial law was totally unwarranted and “shocking.”

According to Kang, “nothing in the circumstances around the country warranted this” and the move will only undermine the authority of President Yoon. She said the decree was made “out of the blue” and bypassed the requirement to consult cabinet members.

“It doesn’t seem any of the ministers were aware that this was going to happen, aside from the defense minister obviously,” she said.

She called statements from the ruling and opposition parties, both of which criticized Yoon for the decision, “very stabilizing.”

Lawmakers are still waiting to hear from President Yoon two hours after they voted to lift his martial law decree. Of the National Assembly’s 300 members, the 190 who were present in the building voted to overturn the measure at close to 1am.

South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has declared all orders relating to the declaration of martial law by President Yoon to be “unconstitutional, invalid, and illegal.” 

He urged members of the armed forces and police carrying out those orders to “swiftly return to your rightful positions and faithfully carry out your original duties.”

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, center, speaks at the National Assembly in Seoul © Kim Ju-hyung / Yonhap via AP

Russia is monitoring events following the introduction of martial law in South Korea.
 
“The situation is alarming. We are monitoring it closely,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to the Interfax news agency.

Washington did not receive advance notice about South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s decision to impose martial law, a White House spokesperson has said, Reuters and CNN reported. 

The official said the administration is “seriously concerned” by the developments and is in contact with the South Korean government.

According to the Guardian, US President Joe Biden has just told reporters that he hasn’t heard all the details of the unfolding situation in Seoul. Asked about the developments after giving a speech in Luanda, Angola, Biden said he was “just getting briefed.”

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg has said the US embassy and Department of State are still “closely tracking” events and “the situation is fluid.”

A senior US foreign policy official has told CNN that the lack of direct response from President Joe Biden to events in Seoul so far is “pretty insane,” particularly given the close relationship between the two nations.

However, the official added that the delayed response is probably because the administration was likely caught off guard by the situation.

Protesters gathered outside South Korea’s National Assembly have begun calling for the arrest and imprisonment of President Yoon Suk Yeol after he imposed martial law on Tuesday night.