South Korea’s National Assembly voted to lift President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law decree on Wednesday morning in Seoul.

Within three hours of Yoon declaring martial law late Tuesday night, 190 of the National Assembly’s 300 lawmakers rallied to call for the state of emergency to be lifted. According to the country’s constitution, the president is obliged to abide by the vote of the National Assembly.

This was the first time martial law was declared in South Korea in 44 years. Yoon had accused opposition lawmakers of plunging the country into a political crisis.

“I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean subversive forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free Constitution.” order,” Yoon said, according to a Reuters translation.

However, Yoon’s martial law decree came as a shock even to members of his People Power Party. Party leader Han Dong-hoon and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon both expressed opposition to Yoon’s declaration of martial law on Tuesday evening.

Yoon, who was elected in 2022, has struggled with low approval ratings in recent weeks. At the beginning of the year, his party suffered defeat in the parliamentary elections. Yoon and the opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in parliament, have been in a political stalemate over next year’s budget.

Earlier in the night, Democratic Party Chairman Lee Jae-myung raised concerns about the impact of the declaration of martial law on the economy: “The Republic of Korea’s economy will collapse irretrievably, international confidence will decline and foreign investors will withdraw,” said Lee in a statement livestreamed earlier in the night.

The statement shocked Korean markets. The won fell sharply against the dollar and was last down more than 1% at around 1,420 won. The iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY), which tracks Korean stocks, fell more than 2%.

The National Assembly was also barricaded by soldiers and police.

“The administration is in contact with the government of the Republic of Korea and is closely monitoring the situation,” the White House National Security Council said in a statement to NBC News.