South Korean President Yoon Suk-yul declared “martial law” on Tuesday, accusing the opposition that controls the country’s parliament of sympathizing with communist North Korea and plunging the country into political chaos.

Hours later, Parliament voted to rescind the declaration, with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik declaring that lawmakers would “protect democracy with the people.”

South Korea’s military announced that martial law would remain in effect despite the vote, ignoring calls from both Woo and opposition leader Lee Jae-myung to withdraw from the assembly halls. Under South Korean law, martial law can be lifted by a majority vote in parliament, where the opposition Democratic Party has a majority.

Protesters quickly gathered in the streets to denounce Yoon’s order, which brought to mind an era of authoritarian leadership that the country had not seen since the 1980s.

Following Yoon’s announcement, the South Korean military announced that Parliament and other political gatherings that could cause “social confusion” would be suspended, according to the government-funded Yonhap news agency.

The military also said that striking doctors in the country should return to work within 48 hours, Yonhap said. Thousands of doctors have been striking for months in protest against the government’s plans to increase the number of students in medical colleges.

Television footage showed police officers blocking the entrance to the National Assembly and soldiers wearing helmets and carrying rifles in front of the main building of the National Assembly to restrict people’s entry.

An Associated Press photographer saw at least three helicopters, possibly military ones, landing inside the association’s grounds, while two or three helicopters flew over the site.

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The leader of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, Han Dong-hoon, called the decision to impose martial law “wrong” and vowed to “stop it with the people.”

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 “eliminate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order.”

“I will eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and return the country to normal,” he said, while asking people to trust him and tolerate “some harassment.”

Yoon – whose popularity has declined in recent months – has struggled to push his agenda against the opposition-controlled parliament since he took office in 2022.

Yun’s party faces an impasse with the liberal opposition over next year’s budget bill. The opposition is also trying to pass motions to remove three top prosecutors, including the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, in what conservatives described as retaliation against their criminal investigations into Lee, who was seen as the preferred presidential candidate. The next presidential election in 2027 in opinion polls.

Yoon also rejected calls for independent investigations into scandals involving his wife and senior officials, drawing swift and strong criticism from his political rivals. The Democratic Party reportedly called an emergency meeting of its lawmakers after Yoon’s announcement.

Yoon’s move is the first declaration of martial law since the country’s democratic transition in 1987. The country’s last prior martial law was in October 1979.

—With files from news agency

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