South Korea lifts president's martial law decree after lawmakers reject military rule

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The president of South Korea early Wednesday lifted the martial law he imposed on the country hours earlier, bending to political pressure after a tense night in which troops surrounded parliament and lawmakers voted to reject military rule.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, who appeared likely to be impeached over his actions, imposed martial law late Tuesday out of frustration with the opposition, vowing to eliminate “anti-state” forces as he struggles against opponents who control parliament and that he accuses of sympathizing with communist North Korea.

Police and military personnel were seen leaving the grounds of parliament following the bipartisan vote to overrule the president, and the declaration was formally lifted around 4:30 a.m. during a Cabinet meeting.

Parliament acted swiftly after martial law was imposed, with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik declaring that the law was “invalid” and that lawmakers would “protect democracy with the people.”

In all, martial law was in effect for about six hours.

The president’s surprising move harkened back to an era of authoritarian leaders that the country has not seen since the 1980s, and it was immediately denounced by the opposition and the leader of Yoon’s own conservative party.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the liberal Democratic Party, which holds the majority in the 300-seat parliament, said the party’s lawmakers would remain in the Assembly’s main hall until Yoon formally lifted his order.

Woo applauded how troops quickly left the Assembly after the vote.

“Even with our unfortunate memories of military coups, our citizens have surely observed the events of today and saw the maturity of our military,” Woo said.

While announcing his plan to lift martial law, Yoon continued to criticize parliament’s attempts to impeach key government officials and senior prosecutors. He said lawmakers had engaged in “unscrupulous acts of legislative and budgetary manipulation that are paralyzing the functions of the state.”

Jo Seung-lae, a Democratic lawmaker, claimed that security camera footage following Yoon’s declaration showed that troops moved in a way that suggested they were trying to arrest Lee, Woo and even Han Dong-hoon, the leader of Yoon’s People Power Party.

Officials from Yoon’s office and the Defense Ministry did not respond to requests for comment early Wednesday.

Seemingly hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Assembly, waving banners and calling for Yoon’s impeachment.

Some protesters scuffled with troops ahead of the lawmakers’ vote, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or major property damage. At least one window was broken as troops attempted to enter the Assembly building. One woman tried unsuccessfully to pull a rifle away from one of the soldiers, while shouting “Aren’t you embarrassed?”

Under South Korea’s constitution, the president can declare martial law during “wartime, war-like situations or other comparable national emergency states” that require the use of military force to maintain peace and order. It was questionable whether South Korea is currently in such a state.

When martial law is declared, “special measures” can be employed to restrict freedom of press, freedom of assembly and other rights, as well as the power of courts.

The constitution also states that the president must oblige when the National Assembly demands the lifting of martial law with a majority vote.

Following Yoon’s announcement of martial law, South Korea’s military proclaimed that parliament and other political gatherings that could cause “social confusion” would be suspended, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said. The military said anyone who violated the decree could be arrested without a warrant.

In Washington, the White House said the U.S. was “seriously concerned” by the events in Seoul. A spokesperson for the National Security Council said President Joe Biden’s administration was not notified in advance of the martial law announcement and was in contact with the South Korean government.

Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said there was no effect on the more than 27,000 U.S. service members based in South Korea.

The South Korean military also said that the country’s striking doctors should return to work within 48 hours, Yonhap said. Thousands of doctors have been striking for months over government plans to expand the number of students at medical schools.

Soon after martial law was declared, the parliament speaker called on his YouTube channel for all lawmakers to gather at the National Assembly. He urged military and law enforcement personnel to “remain calm and hold their positions.

All 190 lawmakers who participated in the vote supported the lifting of martial law.

At one point, television footage showed police officers blocking the entrance of the National Assembly and helmeted soldiers carrying rifles in front of the building. An Associated Press photographer saw at least three helicopters, likely from the military, that landed inside the Assembly grounds, while two or three helicopters circled above the site.

The leader of Yoon’s conservative party called the decision to impose martial law “wrong.” Lee, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, said Yoon’s announcement was “illegal and unconstitutional.”

Yoon said during a televised speech that martial law would help “rebuild and protect” the country from “falling into the depths of national ruin.” He said he would “eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order.”

“I will eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country,” he said, while asking the people to believe in him and tolerate “some inconveniences.”

Yoon — whose approval rating dipped in recent months — has struggled to push his agenda against an opposition-controlled parliament since taking office in 2022.

His party has been locked in an impasse with the liberal opposition over next year’s budget bill. The opposition has also attempted to impeach three top prosecutors, including the chief of the central Seoul prosecutors’ office, in what the conservatives have called a vendetta against their criminal investigations of Lee, who has been seen as the favorite for the next presidential election in 2027 in opinion polls.

During his televised announcement, Yoon also described the opposition as “shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces who are plundering the freedom and happiness of our citizens.” He did not elaborate.

Yoon has taken a hard line on North Korea over its nuclear ambitions, departing from the policies of his liberal predecessor, Moon Jae-in, who pursued inter-Korean engagement.

Yoon has also dismissed calls for independent investigations into scandals involving his wife and top officials, drawing quick, strong rebukes from his political rivals.

Yoon’s move was the first declaration of martial law since the country’s democratization in 1987. The country’s last previous martial law was in October 1979, following the assassination of former military dictator Park Chung-hee.

Sydney Seiler, Korean chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, argued that the move was symbolic for Yoon to express his frustration with the opposition-controlled parliament.

“He has nothing to lose,” said Seiler, comparing Yoon’s move to the Hail Mary pass in American football, with a slim chance of success.

Now Yoon faces likely impeachment, a scenario that was also possible before he made the bold move, Seiler said.

Natalia Slavney, research analyst at the Stimson Center’s 38 North website that focuses on Korean affairs, said Yoon’s imposition of martial law was “a serious backslide of democracy" that followed a “worrying trend of abuse” since he took office in 2022.

South Korea “has a robust history of political pluralism and is no stranger to mass protests and swift impeachments,” Slavney said, citing the example of former President Park Geun-hye, the country’s first female president, who was ousted from office and imprisoned for bribery and other crimes in 2017.

Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and Matt Lee, Didi Tang and Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.

People bock a martial law vehicle as they gather to demand South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to step down in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A man wearing a national flag stands on the wall of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A helicopter flies over the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korean martial law soldiers leave the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (Kim Ju-sung/Yonhap via AP)

People gather to demand South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol step down in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (Kim Do-hoon/Yonhap via AP)

In this photo taken from video released by South Korea's National Assembly Speaker's Office on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik delivers his speech. (South Korea's National Assembly Speaker's Office via AP)

People gather to demand South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to step down in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

People gather to demand South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to step down in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (Kim Do-hoon/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, top center, speaks at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

A National Assembly staff sprays fire extinguishers to block soldiers entering the main hall of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (Jo Da-un/Yonhap via AP)

A man shouts to demand South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to step down in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korean martial law soldiers try to enter the National Assembly compound in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (Cho Sung-bong/Newsis via AP)

South Korean martial law soldiers try to enter the National Assembly compound in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (Cho Sung-bong/Newsis via AP)

South Korean martial law soldiers try to enter the National Assembly compound in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (Cho Jung-woo/Newsis via AP)

Police officers stand guard in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Police officers stand guard in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A man watches his smart phone showing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's televised briefing at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

In this photo provided by South Korea Presidential Office, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (South Korea Unification Ministry via AP).

Police officers stand guard in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

People try to enter as police officers stand guard in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

People watch a TV screen showing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's televised briefing at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

People watch a TV screen showing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's televised briefing at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

FILE - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol answers a reporter's question during a news conference at the Presidential Office in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP, File)

LONDON (AP) — An artist whose work exploring her Scottish Sikh identity includes a vintage Ford car draped in a crocheted doily won the U.K.’s prestigious Turner Prize on Tuesday, during a ceremony picketed by pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

Jasleen Kaur was awarded the 25,000-pound ($32,000) prize by actor James Norton at the Tate Britain gallery in London.

Kaur used her acceptance speech to express support for scores of demonstrators outside. She is among signatories to a letter demanding Tate, which runs several major British art museums, cut ties with donors who are linked to Israel over its war in Gaza.

“This is not a radical demand,” Kaur said. “This should not risk an artist’s career or safety.

“We need a proper ceasefire now,” she said.

The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas health officials in Gaza. Israel launched the war in response to the militant group's Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack that killed some 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 hostage.

A jury led by Tate Britain director Alex Farquhar praised the way 38-year-old Kaur “weaves together the personal, political and spiritual” through “unexpected and playful combinations of material.”

Her winning exhibition mixes sculpture, print, everyday items — including family photos, a Ford Escort car and the popular Scottish soda Irn Bru — and immersive music to reflect on her upbringing in Glasgow’s Sikh community.

Three other finalists – Pio Abad, Claudette Johnson and Delaine Le Bas – received 10,000 pounds ($12,670) each.

Named for 19th-century landscape painter J.M.W. Turner and founded in 1984 to reward young artists, the prize helped make stars of shark-pickling artist Damien Hirst, potter Grayson Perry, sculptor Anish Kapoor and filmmaker Steve McQueen.

But it has also been criticized for rewarding impenetrable conceptual work and often sparks debate about the value of modern art, with winners such as Hirst’s "Mother and Child Divided,” which consists of two cows, bisected and preserved in formaldehyde, and Martin Creed’s “Lights On and Off” -- a room with a light blinking on and off – drawing scorn from sections of the media.

In 2019, all four finalists were declared winners after they refused to compete against one another, “to make a collective statement in the name of commonality, multiplicity and solidarity.”

In 2021, all five finalists were collectives rather than individual artists.

The award was initially open to artists under 50 but now has no upper age limit.

Works by the four finalists are on display until Feb. 16.

Jasleen Kaur is announced as the winner of the Turner Prize 2024 at Tate Britain, in London, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (David Parry/PA via AP)

Jasleen Kaur is announced as the winner of the Turner Prize 2024 at Tate Britain, in London, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (David Parry/PA via AP)

Jasleen Kaur is announced as the winner of the Turner Prize 2024 at Tate Britain, in London, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (David Parry/PA via AP)

FILE - A woman walks past an artwork by Jasleen Kaur during the Turner Prize 2024 press preview at Tate Britain in London, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Krych, File)

FILE - A woman walks past an artwork by Jasleen Kaur during the Turner Prize 2024 press preview at Tate Britain in London, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Krych)