Hongkongers in South Korea have been advised to attend to their personal safety after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Tuesday, a move that was unanimously overturned by lawmakers, and later lifted by the government in a matter of hours.
South Korean protesters hold placards that read “arrest the treasonous criminal Yoon Suk Yeol!” during a rally against the South Korean president after martial law was lifted, on December 4, 2024. Photo: Jung Yeon-je/AFP.
According to Hong Kong’s Travel Industry Council, more than 300 Hong Kong residents were in South Korea when the order was announced, local media reported.
The Hong Kong government statement read: “Residents who intend to visit Korea or are already there should monitor the situation, exercise caution, attend to personal safety, avoid large gatherings of people and pay attention to local announcements on the latest situation.”
President Yoon, in a televised address, declared martial law, saying such a move was needed to root out “pro-North Korea elements” and protect the country’s “free constitutional order.”
Two hours later, 190 of the country’s 300 lawmakers assembled at the South Korean parliament, National Assembly, and unanimously overturned the order.
South Korean media broadcasts showed protesters assembled outside the parliament, with scuffles breaking out between demonstrators and troops.
Martial law lifted
Yoon later lifted the martial law order, some six hours after his initial address, with his senior aides offering to resign en masse on Wednesday morning, Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
Soldiers try to enter the National Assembly building in Seoul after South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on December 4 2024. Photo: Jung Yeon-je/AFP.
The leader of South Korea’s main opposition party, Lee Jae-myung, called on lawmakers to vote down the order at the National Assembly, also rallying South Korean citizens to protest Yoon’s declaration. Legislators, including Lee, climbed fences to get around barricades blocking off the entrance to the National Assembly.
The Democratic Party said on Wednesday that it would file insurrection charges against Yoon’s shock bid to impose martial law. South Korea’s largest labour union has also called for an indefinite general strike until Yoon stepped down as leader.
Following the parliamentary vote and the withdrawal of martial law troops, Hong Kong’s Security Bureau said social order in Korea had returned to normal, though Hong Kong residents in the country should still exercise caution.
The bureau’s outbound travel alert directs Hong Kong residents seeking help to hotlines operated by the Immigration Department, the Chinese Embassy in South Korea, and consulates-general in Guangju, Pusan, and Jeju.
