• 14 hours ago
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Wednesday (Dec 4) he would lift a shock martial law declaration he had imposed just hours before, backing down in a standoff with parliament which roundly rejected his attempt to ban political activity and censor the media.

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Transcript
00:00South Korean President Yoon Suk-yol said on Wednesday he would lift a martial law declaration
00:07he had imposed just hours earlier.
00:10It comes after a standoff with Parliament, which rejected his attempt to ban political
00:14activity and censor the media.
00:16Earlier, South Korean soldiers entered the Parliament building through smashed windows,
00:38apparently tasked with imposing martial law.
00:41Inside, furniture was used to barricade the entrance and doors were broken.
00:47Police scuffled with protesters outside as helicopters monitored the situation from the
00:51air.
01:05Yoon declared martial law on Tuesday night to thwart what he called anti-state forces
01:09among his opponents, but outraged lawmakers rejected the decree in South Korea's biggest
01:15political crisis in decades.
01:18Lifting martial law was then approved by the Cabinet early on Wednesday, according
01:22to Yonhap News Agency.
01:24Under South Korean law, the president must immediately lift martial law if Parliament
01:29demands it by a majority vote.
01:31Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers called on Yoon Suk-yol, who has been in office since
01:37to resign or face impeachment over the martial law declaration, the first in South Korea
01:43since 1980.
02:03The National Assembly can impeach the president if more than two-thirds of lawmakers vote
02:07for it.
02:08A trial is then held by the Constitutional Court, which can confirm it with a vote by
02:13six of the nine justices.
02:16Yoon's party controls 108 seats in the 300-member legislature.

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