MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Democratic institutions across the globe are being tested right now. In a moment, we'll hear from France, where the Parliament tries to topple the government for the first time since 1962.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

But first, we turn to South Korea, where the president declared martial law in order to get rid of what he calls pro-North Korean, anti-state forces in the opposition. But lawmakers voted to overturn the president's order, which he did some seven hours after imposing it. All this is seen as a shocking setback for a key U.S. ally and economic partner at a time when tensions with North Korea are high. NPR's Anthony Kuhn joins us now from Seoul to fill us in. Hi, Anthony.

ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.

CHANG: OK, so how did the president there explain his order to impose martial law in the first place?

KUHN: President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared late at night on TV, and he said that the opposition-controlled Parliament and pro-North Korean forces had paralyzed the government and tried to overthrow the country's democratic system. So he said he was imposing martial law in order to defend the country's constitutional order and protect the country from the North Korean communist threat.

Now, it is true that President Yoon has had a very tough time getting his policies through the opposition-controlled Parliament. And it's also true that the opposition is generally in favor of engaging diplomatically with North Korea. But Yoon never cited any evidence for his allegation that the opposition was trying to subvert democracy or that North Korea was somehow involved in all this.

CHANG: It's pretty breathtaking. I know that you've been out on the street overnight. Thank you, by the way. What is it like...

KUHN: No worries.

CHANG: ...Out there? I mean, is martial law still in effect?

KUHN: No. So I was in front of Parliament. And when I was there, the protesters were still chanting for the president to lift the martial law order. It sounded like this.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #1: (Chanting in Korean).

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #2: (Chanting in Korean).

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #1: (Chanting in Korean).

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #2: (Chanting in Korean).

KUHN: So by the time I got there, lawmakers had already voted to overturn President Yoon's martial law order, and the Constitution says they can do that. So about seven hours after imposing martial law, Yoon said troops had been withdrawn. And then he lifted the Marshal law order, complying with the Parliament's vote as the Constitution also requires him to do. But the martial law order looked really serious when it came out. It suspended parliament, political demonstrations. It put media under martial law control, and it said violators could be arrested without warrant, but none of that ever happened.

Now, while I was there, I bumped into an opposition politician I had interviewed named Song Young-gil. And he was in the Parliament building during the vote, and he was just shocked and outraged at this whole sequence of events. Here's what he said.

SONG YOUNG-GIL: (Speaking Korean).

KUHN: He said, "it makes no sense - truly impossible." And he added, "I think the Yoon Suk Yeol administration committed insurrection. I think President Yoon should be immediately arrested for insurrection." And he is not the only one calling for Yoon's arrest at this point. Other opposition politicians are saying similar things.

CHANG: Well, Anthony, I mean, how much do you think all of this represents some backsliding for South Korea, which is still a pretty young democracy, right?

KUHN: Yeah, it is. So some of the context is that South Korea has been through martial law before. The last time that happened, though, was in 1980 under a military junta. And military rule wasn't replaced by democratic elections until 1987. So now South Korea is considered one of East Asia's more stable democracies. But politics here are still highly polarized, and both liberals and conservatives scream democratic backsliding when the other one - the other side takes power. But, you know, the fact that, seven hours after martial law was imposed, the legislature exercised their right to overturn the order, he complied - it could be seen as a sign of maturity.

CHANG: And is there any reason right now to believe that U.S. citizens who are in South Korea - that they need to be concerned about their safety in any way?

KUHN: No, I don't think so. I was out there. Everything seemed safe. I think the people who should be control - who should be concerned are probably the policymakers in the U.S. And the White House has said it was very concerned, but it stopped short of criticizing the imposition of martial law.

CHANG: All right. That is NPR's Anthony Kuhn in Seoul. Thank you so much, Anthony.

KUHN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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