SEOUL, December 4. /TASS/. Buses with riot police units and other law enforcers left areas adjacent to the South Korean president’s administration building, a TASS correspondent reported from the scene.
The situation in Seoul’s central areas - Yongsan District housing the presidential administration, as well as in the central Yeouido Island - was largely peaceful at night.
On Tuesday evening, no major public unrest comparable in size and scope to protests outside the parliament was reported in the area. Road traffic running from the parliament to the presidential administration was not obstructed, including on the road connecting the military museum and the governmental compound - a common site for rallies.
The country’s parliament voted late on Tuesday to lift the martial law, imposed by the president earlier in the day for the first time in 45 years. In all, the martial law remained in force for just about six hours.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday declared "emergency martial law." The president said he had imposed martial law because the opposition, which holds a majority in parliament, paralyzes the work of the executive branch of power by attempting to impeach its executives, including key figures in the government. According to the president, he introduced the measure to combat "pro-North Korean elements" and protect constitutional order. He also cited the opposition’s refusal to accept the cabinet’s budget proposal.
A number of governmental agencies summoned their personnel for emergency meetings. Democratic Party Chairman Lee Jae-myung, the country’s leading opposition politician, called the president’s decision unconstitutional. The party summoned its lawmakers to the parliament, currently cordoned off by the police. Later, Parliament Speaker Woo Won-shik overturned the president’s decision to impose martial law, declaring it invalid and illegal.