South Korean Parliament votes to immediately lift martial law

PRESIDENT ACCUSES OPPOSITION OF ANTI-STATE ACTIVITIES

SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday, vowing to eliminate "anti-state" forces as he struggles against an opposition that controls the country's parliament and that he accuses of sympathising with communist North Korea.

Hours later, parliament voted to lift the declaration, with the National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik declaring that lawmakers "will protect democracy with the people". Woo called for police and military personnel to withdraw from the Assembly's grounds.

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.

Following Yoon's announcement, South Korea's military proclaimed that parliament and other political gatherings that could cause "social confusion" would be suspended, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.