At 1 AM on December 4, following the National Assembly's passage of the resolution demanding the lifting of martial law, dozens of martial law troops who had entered the main building of the National Assembly began to withdraw.
However, some troops remain stationed within the National Assembly grounds, waiting. Among them, some soldiers have set down their gear and are awaiting orders. A National Assembly official approached one of the martial law soldiers, asking, "Did you receive live ammunition? Who is your commanding officer?" but the soldier did not respond.
Outside the National Assembly, citizens who had been waiting cheered upon hearing the news of the resolution’s passage. They chanted slogans such as "Don’t underestimate the people," "Long live South Korea," and "Yoon Suk Yeol, step down!"
Other Korean online users commented:
"The martial law troops seem to have done the bare minimum because they had no other choice. What a tough night for everyone involved."
"Did the president really handle such a major issue so carelessly? If so, it’s deeply disappointing. If not, I hope the next step is taken swiftly."
"At this hour, it’s probably only labor union members out there protesting, LOL."
"Why even declare martial law?!?! This was the first thing Yoon actually did right!!! Are you kidding me?!?! The National Assembly should’ve been dissolved first!!! This was the perfect opportunity to root out pro-North leftists from this land once and for all!!! Now they’ll only become more emboldened!!! This country is doomed because of these pro-North leftists!!!"
"Who are these 'citizens' cheering? They’re probably just Democratic Party supporters. Also, why does it feel like the soldiers are being treated as if they did something wrong? The soldiers were just following orders as per protocol. Labeling it as "cheering" makes it seem like the soldiers were at fault, which isn’t fair."
"Didn’t they foresee this outcome? Once the decision was made, they had to know they’d face charges of treason or worse. I expected them to go all out with a hardline military crackdown out of desperation… Were they really clueless about this? This is so embarrassing."
"President Yoon is completely finished now. The people have fully turned against him, and there’s no stopping impeachment at this point."
"I see this as President Yoon gambling his life. If this martial law had succeeded and he eradicated the pro-North forces, he could’ve gone down in history as a hero. But now that it’s failed, he won’t avoid impeachment and will likely face immediate arrest. I just hope this was a calculated move and not a reckless act."
"Let’s just dissolve the National Assembly, have the National Intelligence Service indict every single member of the Democratic Party, force Yoon Suk Yeol to step down, and overhaul the entire system. While we’re at it, let’s abolish local councils too."
"Do you really think the people protesting at this hour are regular citizens? Ordinary citizens would be at home watching the news, wondering what’s going on."
"This is 100% heading toward impeachment, but why? For what purpose was this done?" "Why did he go through with it? Why did I vote for this guy? If no grand strategy comes out of this, I’m done with politics for the rest of my life, starting today."
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