South Korea lawmakers defy president and block martial law as crowds protest

South Korea’s National Assembly passed a resolution demanding an end to martial law at around 1 am on Wednesday, with all 190 lawmakers present voting in favor. Lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties were present for the vote.

Article 77 of the Republic of Korea Constitution reads, “When the National Assembly requests the lifting of martial law with the concurrent vote of a majority of the total members of the National Assembly, the President shall comply.”

With the passage of this resolution, President Yoon Suk-yeol’s declaration of emergency martial law at around 10:25 on Tuesday was rendered void in merely 2 hours and 35 minutes.

As soon as the resolution was passed, applause and cheering could be heard both inside and outside of the parliamentary building.

Ahead of introducing the resolution for a vote, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said, “Despite a clause mandating that [the president] notify the National Assembly without delay when declaring martial law, no notification has come.”

Calling such notification the president's obligation, the speaker said, “Regardless of this, we will go forward with the procedure [for voting to demand that martial law be lifted].”