* South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol lifted early Wednesday the martial law he imposed a few hours earlier, giving in to lawmakers rejecting military rule.
* South Korea's senior presidential staff, including the chief of staff and all the senior secretaries, offered to resign after Yoon's revocation of the martial law.
* The National Assembly passed a resolution to lift the martial law with 18 lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party and 172 lawmakers of opposition parties voting in favor.
* Yoon declared emergency martial law Tuesday night in a televised emergency address, claiming to eradicate "anti-state" forces and uphold free constitutional order, marking the first martial law declaration since the country's military dictatorship ended in the late 1980s.
SEOUL, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol lifted early Wednesday the martial law he imposed a few hours earlier, giving in to lawmakers rejecting military rule.
Before retracting his martial law decree at a cabinet meeting, Yoon confirmed in a televised address that martial law troops were withdrawn.
The motion to remove the martial law order was approved at an urgently convened cabinet meeting, reported multiple media outlets.
The National Assembly held a plenary session, passing a resolution to lift the martial law with 18 lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party and 172 lawmakers of opposition parties voting in favor.
In accordance with the constitution, the president should lift martial law when the 300-member parliament demands the lifting with a majority of lawmakers voting in favor.
Yoon declared emergency martial law Tuesday night in a televised emergency address, claiming to eradicate "anti-state" forces and uphold free constitutional order, marking the first martial law declaration since the country's military dictatorship ended in the late 1980s.
He depicted it as an inevitable step to ensure people's freedom, safety and national sustainability from the anti-state forces seeking to overthrow the country, vowing to eliminate the anti-state forces and normalize the country as soon as possible.
Yoon criticized the parliament for "paralyzing" state affairs by attempting to impeach government officials, launching a special prosecutor's team for investigation into scandals involving the first lady, and protecting the opposition leader from legal risks.
South Korea's senior presidential staff, including the chief of staff and all the senior secretaries, offered to resign after Yoon's revocation of the martial law.
Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, expressed his great regret over the martial law declaration as a ruling party chair, saying the unconstitutional, illegal declaration lost its effect after the parliamentary decision.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, deemed the declaration to be illegal and unconstitutional as it failed to meet the requirements under the constitution and the martial law.
Lee urged the police and the military to return to their normal jobs.
Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who reportedly proposed the martial law declaration to Yoon, ordered a meeting of key commanders, calling on the military to strengthen vigilance.
The martial law command issued its first decree to ban all political activities relevant to the parliament, local councils and political parties as well as political gatherings and rallies.
It prohibited fake news, public opinion manipulation and false incitement, saying that all media and publishers will be controlled by the martial law command.
Any strike, go-slow and assembly that stoke social unrest were prohibited, while all medical personnel who had been on strike or left the medical field, such as resident doctors, were ordered to return to their jobs within 48 hours.
Violators of the decree will be arrested, detained and seized without a warrant and be punished under the martial law, the command noted.
According to Yonhap news agency, South Korea's financial regulator is ready to deploy 10 trillion won (7.07 billion U.S. dollars) as a stock market stabilization fund.
The main opposition Democratic Party demands immediate resignation of Yoon, who has been in office since 2022 and facing unpopularity for months with support ratings hovering at around 20 percent.
"This is a serious act of rebellion and a perfect reason for impeachment," the opposition party said, stressing that Yoon failed to comply with any of the requirements for declaring martial law.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the country's largest umbrella labor union, criticized Yoon's "irrational and anti-democratic measure," calling for an "indefinite general strike" until the president resigned.
The United States felt "relieved" that the emergency martial law was lifted, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council said Tuesday.
"We are relieved President Yoon (Suk-yeol of South Korea) has reversed course on his concerning declaration of martial law and respected the ROK National Assembly's vote to end it," the spokesperson said in a statement, using the abbreviation of the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name.
Late Tuesday night into the early hours of Wednesday, large crowds of South Koreans gathered outside the National Assembly building in Seoul to protest against the emergency martial law.
Seoul's citizens, holding signs reading "Oppose Martial Law" and "End Martial Law," shouted slogans such as "Open the gates" and "Withdraw martial law," expressing their anger and frustration.
Xinhua reporters witnessed that numerous police vehicles surrounded the parliament building. Late Tuesday night, martial law troops began entering the building and later sealed the main gates and started setting up barricades. Ordinary vehicles were prohibited from passing, and groups of police officers were deployed to maintain order.
Upon hearing the news of the lifting of the martial law, the crowd broke into cheers, chanting "End martial law!" "We won!" Most of them began leaving the parliament building; some stayed, demanding an explanation from the president for the surprise declaration of the martial law.
(Video reporters: Chen Yi, Yang Chang, Lu Rui, Jin Haomin; video editors: Wang Houyuan, Wei Yin)■
