The opposition-led National Assembly's vote to revoke President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law has effectively lifted the declaration, Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said Wednesday.
Woo chaired an Assembly plenary session that convened around 1 a.m. on Wednesday. The motion was passed after 190 members of the 300-member Assembly who were present at the session voted in favor of it. Of the 190 members, 172 were opposition lawmakers, while 18 were members of the ruling People Power Party.
"Through the passage of the motion through the National Assembly, the president must immediately lift the martial law," Woo said in a statement released after the passage of the resolution.
"The declaration of the martial law is now invalid -- the people (of South Korea) now can be relieved," he added, saying that the Assembly will "protect the country's democracy alongside the people.
With the motion's passage, the martial law declaration has become void, Woo's office said. Under the Constitution, martial law must be lifted when a parliamentary majority demands it.
The motion was passed 2 hours 30 minutes after Yoon declared martial law.
Around 2 a.m., Woo said the official request for Yoon to lift the martial law was being sent to the presidential office and the Ministry of Defense.
"I remind (the presidential office) clearly that they must carry out the process of lifting the martial law without delay," Woo said.
Martial law troops had left the Assembly around 1 a.m. after Woo asked them to leave the vicinity.
