Follow Us on Google
By John Ogunsemore
President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol has faced increasing calls to resign after his failed bid to impose martial law.
Yoon declared martial law in a televised broadcast on Tuesday night ostensibly “to safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness”.
Soldiers enforcing martial law were quickly mobilised to the National Assembly building to shut it down as protesters took to the streets to vent their disagreement.
Amid the tension, National Assembly members, many of whom scaled fences to access the parliament building, voted unanimously to lift martial law.
South Korean law mandates the president to immediately lift martial law if the National Assembly demands it by a majority vote.
Other News
Yoon declared an end to martial law at 4:30 am local time on Wednesday (1930 GMT on Tuesday) following a Cabinet meeting.
South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party demanded the president’s immediate resignation.
In a statement, the party said it would “file charges of insurrection” against Yoon, his defence and interior ministers and “key military and police figures involved, such as the martial law commander and the police chief”.
The party promised to push for impeachment if the president fails to resign honourably.
The nation’s largest umbrella labour union has called for an “indefinite general strike” until Yoon resigned.
Yoon has not publicly responded to the resignation calls.
