Amid the turmoil surrounding the declaration of martial law in South Korea, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, expressed shock at the swift and unanimous vote by the South Korean National Assembly to pass a resolution calling for the lifting of martial law.
On Tuesday, Musk responded with a simple “Wow” to a post on X (formerly Twitter) that stated, “The South Korean National Assembly has unanimously passed a resolution calling for the lifting of martial law, with all 190 members present voting in favor.”
Musk further commented, “This is really shocking,” on another post highlighting the confusion surrounding the martial law declaration and its subsequent reversal in South Korea.
At around 10:25 PM on Tuesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol delivered an unexpected emergency address to the nation, announcing the declaration of martial law.
Major international news outlets, including Associated Press (AP), Reuters, and AFP, quickly covered the story of South Korean President Yoon’s martial law declaration, providing urgent updates on the fast-developing situation.
Reuters reported that Yoon’s declaration of martial law sent shockwaves throughout South Korea, which has been regarded as a stable democracy since the 1980s.
The surprise announcement of martial law was met with immediate backlash from the ruling and opposition parties. Around 1 AM on Wednesday, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik convened an emergency session, where a resolution demanding lifting martial law was passed.
The resolution was approved unanimously, with all 190 members of the National Assembly—172 opposition lawmakers and 18 from the ruling party—voting in favor.
After the resolution was passed, Yoon Suk Yeol addressed the nation at 4:20 AM on Wednesday. In his speech, Yoon explained, “My fellow citizens, at 11 PM last night, I declared martial law with a firm resolve to confront anti-state forces that sought to paralyze our nation’s essential functions and dismantle our liberal democratic constitutional order.”
He continued, “However, in light of the National Assembly’s call for lifting martial law, I have ordered the withdrawal of military units deployed under martial law.”
Yoon stated, “I will accept the National Assembly’s request and lift martial law through a Cabinet meeting.” However, he emphasized, “I urge the National Assembly to immediately cease reckless actions that paralyze the functions of the state, such as repeated impeachment, legislative manipulation, and budget abuse.”
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