South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol revoked his martial law declaration after lawmakers rejected the move after Yoon vowed to eliminate “anti-state” forces, posing a serious challenge to the country’s parliament, which he accused of sympathizing with North Korea .

Tuesday night’s statement was loudly rejected by the parliament speaker and even the leader of Yoon’s own party, Han Dong-hoon, who has clashed with the president over his handling of recent scandals, Reuters reported.

Shortly after Yoon made his announcement, people gathered outside the parliament building, some of them chanting “Cancel emergency martial law!” as they scuffled with troops. Under South Korean law, the president must lift martial law if Parliament requests it by majority vote.

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National Assembly staff members spray a fire extinguisher on soldiers at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. ((Cho Da-un/Yonhap via AP)

All 190 MPs who took part in the vote supported lifting martial law. Television footage showed soldiers stationed in parliament leaving the premises after the vote.

Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was monitoring the situation and U.S. forces were in close contact with their South Korean counterparts.

“The U.S. government is broadly in contact with the Republic of Korea,” Ryder told reporters.

Ryder was not aware of any change in the troop deployment of the 28,500 US soldiers stationed in the country.

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People gather outside the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, to demand the resignation of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. (Kim Do-hoon/Yonhap via AP)

In an unannounced address broadcast live on YTN late last night, Yoon said he had no choice but to take drastic measures to protect South Korea’s freedoms and constitutional order. He said opposition parties had taken the parliamentary process hostage and plunged the country into 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.” “Okay,” he said.

He added that martial law would help “rebuild and protect” the country from “plunging into the depths of national ruin.”

People watch a television screen showing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s televised press conference at a bus station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

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Yoon’s surprising move was reminiscent of an authoritarian era not seen since the 1980s.

The liberal Democratic Party has controlled South Korea’s unicameral National Assembly since Yoon, a former top prosecutor, took office in 2022. The opposition has repeatedly thwarted Yoon’s agenda and the president has low approval ratings.

Chris Pandolfo of Fox News Digital, the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.