Never Again: South Korea Revises Martial Law Rules 

South Korea’s lawmakers on Thursday voted to revise rules governing the imposition of martial law, following the declaration of military rule by former President Yoon Suk Yeol in December that set off more than six months of political crisis, Reuters reported. 

The new rules bar any attempt to prevent lawmakers from entering the National Assembly and also prohibit military personnel and police from entering the building without the Speaker’s approval. 

Following Yoon’s declaration of martial law last year, lawmakers were forced to scale the walls of the National Assembly, to bypass soldiers who encircled the building and barred access, in order to vote down the resolution, the BBC wrote. 

Yoon’s move plunged South Korea into a political crisis, which led to the impeachment and arrest of Yoon and other officials and a snap election in June. He is currently on trial for insurrection.  

In June, member of the opposition Lee Jae-myung became the country’s new president. 

However, South Korean politics remains deeply divided. When parliament confirmed Lee’s nominee for prime minister on Thursday, Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, now the main opposition party, boycotted the vote.