S. Korea's senior presidential staff offer to resign after martial law order revocation

SEOUL -- South Korea's senior presidential staff, including the chief of staff and all the senior secretaries, offered to resign after President Yoon Suk-yeol declared and lifted an emergency martial law, multiple media outlets said Wednesday, citing the presidential office.

Yoon declared the emergency martial law Tuesday night, marking the first martial law declaration since the country's military dictatorship ended in the late 1980s.

He noted that it was 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, launch a special prosecutor's team for investigation into scandals involving the first lady and protect the opposition leader from legal risks.

Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who reportedly proposed the martial law declaration to Yoon, ordered a meeting of key commanders, urging the military to strengthen vigilance.

However, after the announcement, the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, called for lawmakers to head toward the National Assembly to discuss countermeasures. Seoul's citizens also rallied in front of the parliament building against the martial law order.

Despite the lockdown of the parliament building by martial law troops and police, the lawmakers managed to convene a meeting in the National Assembly and passed a resolution to lift the martial law with 18 lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party and 172 lawmakers of opposition parties in attendance and 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.

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said the president should immediately lift the martial law order according to the parliament's resolution approval, noting that the martial law declaration became invalid.

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, said the declaration was illegal and unconstitutional as it failed to meet the requirements under the constitution and the martial law, urging the police and the military to return to their normal job as following the illegal, unconstitutional order of the president itself is illegal.

Early Wednesday, a motion to remove the martial law order was approved at an urgently convened cabinet meeting, according to multiple media outlets.

Before the cabinet meeting, Yoon said in a televised address that martial law troops were withdrawn as the National Assembly demanded the lifting of martial law, vowing to lift the martial law at a cabinet meeting to accept the parliamentary demand.

He asked the National Assembly to stop paralyzing state affairs by trying to impeach government officials, slash the government's budget for next year and launch a special prosecutor's team for investigation into scandals involving the first lady.

Woo confirmed that all martial law troops had left the parliamentary building.