South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said martial law would be lifted and troops withdrawn after lawmakers voted to block the move.
Just three hours earlier, he had announced he was imposing martial law in an unexpected late-night televised speech. He said it was necessary to protect the country from “North Korea's communist forces” and “eliminate anti-state elements.”
Thousands of protesters arrived at the gates of the National Assembly, as lawmakers escaped police lines and forced their way into the building to vote against the order.
Mired in corruption scandals, Yoon, 63, has been a lame-duck president since his People Power Party lost the general election in April this year.
The scandals range from stock manipulation to one involving the First Lady accepting a Dior bag.
He has increasingly struggled with unpopularity and a political impasse with opposition lawmakers who now control Parliament.
The opposition also moved to dismiss cabinet members and prosecutors, including the head of the government's audit agency, for failing to investigate the First Lady.
A stalled budget bill this week emerged as the latest challenge.
When announcing his shock decision to impose military rule, Yoon initially blamed North Korea, but then lashed out at the opposition, accusing it of using its majority to cripple the program of his government.
His second announcement – that he was reversing his previous decision – was met with cheers from protesters outside the South Korean parliament early Wednesday.
“Just a moment ago, the National Assembly requested the lifting of the state of emergency and we withdrew the military deployed for martial law operations,” Yoon said in a televised speech around 4:30 a.m. ( 7:30 p.m. GMT). Tuesday).
“We will accept the request of the National Assembly and lift martial law at a Cabinet meeting,” he added.
“We won!” » shouted a demonstrator, according to AFP, among the crowd who had braved freezing temperatures to stay up.
Martial law means the rule of military authorities in times of emergency and can mean the suspension of normal civil rights.
It has not been imposed in South Korea since the country's return to democracy in 1987.
The last time it was used was in 1979, after longtime military ruler Park Chung Hee was assassinated in a coup.
Yoon's decision also caused consternation abroad. A US State Department spokesperson said its alliance with South Korea remained “ironclad”.
But they added: “We continue to watch with grave concern, and we will continue to monitor developments on the ground very closely.”
A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also said his government was “monitoring the situation closely”.
