South Korea's National Assembly convened an emergency late-night session, where lawmakers unanimously voted to reject President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law decree.
Out of the 300 members of the Assembly, 190 were present, and all cast their votes against the controversial measure, which was announced earlier in the day during a televised address by the president.
"The President should immediately lift the emergency martial law following the voting by the National Assembly. Now, emergency martial law declaration is invalid," said Woo Won-sik, the chairman of the National Assembly.
"The people should ... rest easy. The National Assembly will defend democracy with the people," he said.
Shortly after 1 a.m. local time in Seoul, dozens of troops stationed inside the main parliamentary building began withdrawing, according to the Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo.
Local television footage also showed troops leaving the premises. However, some forces reportedly remain on the National Assembly grounds, with a few appearing to have set down their equipment, Chosun Ilbo noted, according to CNN.
South Korean stocks plunged on Tuesday following Yoon's declaration of martial law, which he said was necessary to protect the nation from "communist forces."
The iShares MSCI South Korea ETF, a US-traded fund comprising nearly 100 large and midsized South Korean companies, dropped 6%. In UK trading, Samsung, the country's largest corporation, saw its shares fall by 7%.
The South Korean won also weakened significantly, with the US dollar gaining 2%, pushing the currency to its lowest level since 2009.
Yoon's announcement leaves uncertainty about whether the stock exchange will reopen on Wednesday. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is reportedly planning an emergency meeting with officials from the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission.
