South Korea has endured 24 hours of political drama after President Yoon Suk Yeol imposed martial law for the first time in more than four decades, rescinding the order after lawmakers voted it down.

With Yoon now facing an impeachment motion in a parliament controlled by the opposition, a general strike, and fresh protests, AFP looks at how events unfolded.

Prelude

For months, some opposition lawmakers accused Yoon of a slide towards authoritarianism.

One lawmaker, Kim Min-Seok, in September, went so far as to claim Yoon has martial law in mind, having filled top security positions with old high-school classmates and staunch allies.

Most dismissed his prediction as fantasy.

Tuesday

10:24pm

On Tuesday at 10:24pm, (1424 GMT) national broadcaster KBS interrupted its programmes to put Yoon on screen. In the unannounced address, he declared martial law to protect the country from “communist forces”.

Yoon, whose party had been locked in a legislative dispute over next year’s budget bill, claimed the opposition had “paralysed governance” and parliament was a “haven for criminals”.

10:40pm

Opposition leader Lee Jae-Myung livestreamed himself being driven to the National Assembly, calling on lawmakers and protesters to join him in opposing the “illegal imposition of martial law”. An emergency session was scheduled for later that night.

Wednesday

00:27am

As lawmakers scrambled to parliament to vote, helicopters full of heavily armed special forces began landing at the building, as other troops scaled perimeter fences and smashed windows to get in.

Sometime after midnight, soldiers attempted to enter the main parliament, with scuffles breaking out as staffers and lawmakers sought to bar their way, using office furniture as barricades.

Enraged by Yoon’s actions, thousands of protesters also made their way to parliament to demonstrate. The president “has paved his own path to impeachment with this,” Lim Myeong-pan, 55, told AFP.

1:01am

At 1:01am, the National Assembly started a plenary session to lift the martial law declaration, and — at 1:03am — quickly voted 190-0 to approve it — formally requesting that Yoon lift it immediately. Soon after, soldiers began withdrawing from the building.

4:29am

Hours passed as calls grew from lawmakers for Yoon to accept the legislature’s decision and lift martial law.

At 4:29am, Yoon made another televised address, saying he would accept the National Assembly’s demand and lift martial law. His cabinet quickly approved the move.

9am

At 9am when the stock market opened, the benchmark index KOSPI dropped 2.3 per cent, as news of the political turmoil sent shivers through the trading floor in Seoul.

South Korea’s central bank held an emergency meeting, and issued a statement saying it would “temporarily supply sufficient liquidity until the financial and foreign exchange markets stabilise”.

2:40pm

The opposition immediately vowed to push for impeachment, and at 2:40pm today, filed an official motion.

A vote could come as soon as 00:01am on Friday, lawmakers said. The motion is likely to pass in the opposition-controlled parliament.

Opposition lawmakers also quickly filed separate complaints of “insurrection” against Yoon, his defence and interior ministers and “key military and police figures involved, such as the martial law commander and the police chief”.

“For South Korea’s domestic politics and international reputation, this may be more damaging than January 6th,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, referring to the incident where supporters of Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol.

“Yoon’s declaration of martial law appeared to be both legal overreach and a political miscalculation, unnecessarily risking South Korea’s economy and security,” he added.

“He sounded like a politician under siege, making a desperate move against mounting scandals, institutional obstruction, and calls for impeachment, all of which are now likely to intensify.”

6pm

Thousands of people began gathering in Seoul’s central Gwanghwamun square, set to march to the National Assembly to demand Yoon resign. “I had to be here tonight, the president is crazy,” Choi Moon Jung, 55, told AFP as she handed out hot chocolate to demonstrators.

6:20pm

South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong-Hyun apologised and offered to resign over the turmoil, saying he “deeply regret(s) and take full responsibility for the confusion and concern”.

President Yoon himself has cancelled all public appearances and has yet to address the country or issue any statement.

“When MP Kim Min-seok first made the claim about martial law, I dismissed it as absolute nonsense,” local political pundit Jang Sung-Cheol said. “I would like to take this opportunity to issue my sincere apology,” Jang told a popular political YouTube talk show.

8pm

Thousands of protesters headed to the presidential office to demand Yoon’s resignation.

10:24pm

Yoon has not reappeared in public since the second televised address.

Header image: Protesters participating in a march against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol head toward the Presidential Office in Seoul on December 4. — AFP