section_path: Events/National Assembly vote
section_name: National Assembly vote
paragraph_text: National Assembly vote
  
  From 22:48, martial law forces initially requested permission from the Capital Defense Command several times to allow helicopters to fly over restricted airspace to seize the National Assembly. However, approval was repeatedly rejected on the grounds that the purpose of the flights was unknown. Permission for the helicopter flights was only approved at 23:31. Twenty-four helicopter flights carried 240 troops to the National Assembly, until 01:18 the next morning.
  
  The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency blocked all entrances to the National Assembly by 23:04 and prevented lawmakers from reaching the plenary session to overturn the martial law declaration. Lawmakers instead maneuvered around police barricades to enter the Assembly, with some assistance from civilians. At around 23:00, Lee Jae-myung live streamed himself climbing over a 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) fence to gain access, and Speaker Woo also had to climb a fence to enter the Assembly premises. Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party, was seen confronting police officers for obstructing lawmakers, but recounted later that some police officers appeared not to know what to do.
  
  At 23:50, UH-60P Black Hawk military helicopters were seen approaching the grounds, prompting lawmakers and aides to build furniture barricades inside. Around 23:57, the 707th SMG appeared in front of the National Assembly Proceeding Hall, attempting to enter the building, leading to scuffles with aides and legislative staff who tried to prevent their entry. DPK spokeswoman Ahn Gwi-ryeong was seen trying to seize a rifle from a soldier before the soldier pointed it at her briefly, prompting her to berate the soldier saying "Aren't you ashamed?" as the soldier walked away. The video of the incident was captured on a livestream by OhmyNews and viewed millions of times on Twitter. She later told BBC Korean Service that "I didn't think... I just knew we had to stop this".
  
  At 00:45, around 300 military personnel entered the National Assembly building, broke windows and attempted to enter the main hall, where Speaker Woo was about to begin the plenary session to revoke the martial law decree. In response, staff sprayed them with fire extinguishers and successfully stopped their entry. Some soldiers attempted to enter through the fourth floor, but were stopped by employees.
  
  Soldiers broke the windows of several MPs' offices, while injuries occurred during confrontations inside the building. Ultimately, the soldiers were unable to access the main session hall, whose entrances were barricaded using furniture installed by staff. At least three helicopters also landed on the Assembly grounds while two others were seen hovering above. Armored military vehicles were seen on the streets, while the martial law command also ordered the eviction of the Presidential Office press corps from its building in Seoul.
  
  The National Assembly commenced the emergency session at 00:48 on 4 December. At 01:02, with 190 of 300 lawmakers present, they voted unanimously to lift martial law. Those who voted included 172 opposition MPs and 18 members of a PPP faction supporting Han Dong-hoon. Following the vote, Speaker Woo Won-shik called for the military and police to leave the Assembly as "declaration of extraordinary martial law is now void" while reiterating that the president did not notify the National Assembly on implementing martial law as prescribed in the Constitution. Lee Jae-myung said that the DPK would remain in the Assembly until the president lifted martial law. Lee called for police and soldiers to return to their positions and not abide with Yoon's "illegal act". They were also joined by members of the PPP. The plenary session was only adjourned at 05:54 upon confirmation from the State Council that martial law had been withdrawn.
  
  The Korea Times and opposition parties identified units of the security forces involved in the incursion at the Assembly as the 1st Airborne Special Forces Brigade of the Army Special Warfare Command and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, with the National Police Agency believed to have been bypassed by the declaration. The National Police Agency declared a Level B Emergency. The Kyunghyang Shinmun published images of soldiers next to boxes of what appeared to be live bullets and ammunition at the Assembly. Protests against martial law were also organized in Gwangju, where memories of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising and subsequent crackdown remain fresh.
  
  On 5 December, an anonymous special forces soldier told the media that the soldiers sent to the National Assembly only learned of the martial law declaration from the news. Other soldiers have said they were kept in the dark to varying degrees; most were not even told their destination until en route, and only given a specific mission after arrival. One said he felt betrayed by his superiors. Many were reluctant and deliberately slow in carrying out orders.
  
  On 6 December, Lieutenant General Kwak Jong-keun, Chief of the Army Special Warfare Command, revealed during an interview by DPK legislators Kim Byung-joo and Park Sun-won, that the defense minister gave orders for troops to drag out the legislators, corroborating the earlier reports. Kwak said he prohibited giving live ammunition to individual soldiers as he witnessed "unjustified scenes" during the deployment, and added that "based on my judgment, dragging lawmakers out was clearly an illegal act" and he defied the orders, ordering the troops not to enter the plenary hall. In addition, Brigadier General Lee Sang-hyun, commander of the 1st Special Forces Brigade confirmed that they were deployed to the National Assembly, with deployment of two battalions, consisting of about 250 soldiers in total. He confirmed that orders were given to remove the lawmakers using means such as breaking down doors or cutting electricity, while confirming that Kwak gave orders not to give live ammunition. On a subsequent inquiry by the National Assembly on 10 December with a huge delegation of military officers summoned for questioning by legislators, Kwak revealed that the president personally called him to demand "break open the door, and drag the lawmakers out" and further added that he was made aware of plans for martial law on 1 December, two days before the announcement. Kwak suggested that prosecutors in charge of investigating Yoon's martial law declaration were framing their questions in a way that held former Defense Minister Kim accountable, and shift the blame away from President Yoon.
  
  Subsequent investigations revealed that President Yoon ordered Commander Kwak Jong-geun, and Capital Defense Commander Lee Jin-woo to break through the plenary chamber doors to drag the lawmakers out at 00:40 to 00:50 hours, which was too late as the lawmakers had begun the session to end martial law at that time. Yoon also called Police Commissioner General Cho Ji-ho several times and instructed him to arrest all the lawmakers trying to enter the National Assembly, stating "Bring them in. It's illegal. All the lawmakers are violating the proclamation. Arrest them." In the indictment of Kim Yong-hyun on 27 December by the special prosecution team, it also revealed Yoon told Commander Lee, "Break down the doors, even if it means shooting." When he was notified the lawmakers had begun the session to end martial law, Yoon ordered Special Warfare Commander Kwak to "break down the door with an axe and go in and get them all out." Former Minister Kim also ordered, "Stop the number of National Assembly members so that it is less than 150. Bring the National Assembly members out." Minister Kim also prioritized the arrests and detention of Lee Jae-myung, Woo Won-shik, and Han Dong-hoon from the National Assembly. Upon finding out about the National Assembly vote being passed, Yoon denied it was legitimate at first, and told Commander Lee, "It's not even confirmed that 190 people came in. Even if martial law was lifted, I just have to declare martial law two or three more times, so keep going."
  
  The group messenger chat-room of the counter-intelligence arrest team made public by the prosecution, contained the following message: "Cancel all existing detention quotas. All teams should first arrest Woo Won-sik, Lee Jae-myung, and Han Dong-hoon, whichever team you see, and then move them to the Subangsa detention facility." There was also a message saying, "Secure new recruits through the operational unit on site, then take them over and detain them at the Subangsa. Use ropes and handcuffs."
  
  Confrontations took place at the complex's main gate between security forces and civilians. Crowds gathered as soon as martial law was declared, chanting slogans such as "lift martial law", "take down the dictatorship", "no violence" and "impeach Yoon".
  
  CCTV footage released in February 2025 showed that in addition to troops smashing windows on the second floor of the National Assembly’s main building on the night of martial law, few troops were caught on camera opening a switchboard on the basement floor at 1:06 am (five minutes after the National Assembly voted to rescind martial law), turning off both the main power and the backup power for a portion of the building. Half of the first basement floor of the building went dark, with a blackout lasting for five minutes and 48 seconds. The seven soldiers who cut off the power belonged to the 707th Special Mission Group, the same elite 16-person unit that entered the National Assembly’s main chamber.