Early on Wednesday morning, the South Korean government lifted the emergency martial law imposed by the country’s President Yoon Suk-yeol, to general consternation on Tuesday night (local time), accusing the opposition of being made up of forces hostile to the state, with background to the disputes over the state budget.

It was the first declaration of martial law since the country was controlled by a dictatorship more than four decades ago. The law, which was officially repealed around 4:30 A.M. local time, was in effect for about six hours. The Parliament demanded the lifting of martial law, so military forces deployed for the purpose were ordered withdrawn, Yun said in a speech.

However, the South Korean president is facing significant challenges due to attacks from both the opposition and his own party.

Six opposition factions have announced that they have submitted a proposal to parliament to remove South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol from office.

According to information from the South Korean national news agency Yonhap, a vote on the issue is expected to be held the day after tomorrow, Friday the 6th or Saturday the 7th of October.

The US presidency stated that it was not aware of the intentions of Mr. Yun and expressed relief at the lifting of the measure. The head of US diplomacy, Anthony Blinken, welcomed the announcement that martial law was being lifted, calling for a peaceful resolution of political disputes.

The United Nations and Britain expressed concern, while China urged its nationals in the country to exercise caution. Moscow, which has tightened relations with Pyongyang amid the war in Ukraine, also described the situation as very worrying.

Japan, on the part of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said that it is closely monitoring the situation with extreme and serious concern.

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