• South Korea's president is facing calls from his own party for his impeachment.
• He declared martial law on Tuesday evening, only to backpedal six hours later.
• Yoon tried to arrest top lawmakers during that period, his party's leader said on Friday.

South Korea's president, Yoon Suk Yeol, is facing calls from his own party for his immediate removal after his short-lived declaration of martial law.

Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the conservative People Power Party, told local media on Friday in Seoul that Yoon had ordered the arrest of top lawmakers after he announced martial law.

"Given the newly revealed facts, I believe it is necessary to promptly suspend President Yoon Suk Yeol from his duties to protect the Republic of Korea and its people," Han said, per a translation by the Yonhap news agency.

Han added that he was concerned Yoon would take more "radical" action if he remained in power.

He told local media that leaders had learned on Thursday that Yoon instructed the country's intelligence commander to detain politicians during martial law.

According to Han, Yoon had called them "anti-state" forces.

Yoon had used the same term to describe his political rivals when he made his shock announcement on Tuesday evening, accusing South Korea's opposition of being affiliated with North Korea as justification for martial law.

His declaration, made at around 10:27 p.m. Seoul time, was instantly denounced by Han and the leader of the opposition party, Lee Jae-myung.

They summoned their party members to the National Assembly, where they voted to lift martial law before troops could enter the main hall.

Of the 300-seat National Assembly, 190 members were present that night. They voted unanimously against Yoon's decision. Yoon lifted martial law at about 4:30 a.m. local time.

Impeachment for Yoon looms

Lee's main opposition party, the Democratic Party, has held a majority through 170 seats since the legislative elections in April and has stymied Yoon's parliamentary moves since.

The ruling People Power Party, of which Yoon is a member, holds 108 seats.

Yoon now faces impeachment through a motion filed by the Democratic Party, which must pass a vote in the National Assembly.

Han's ruling party initially stayed out of proceedings and was expected to oppose impeachment. But with support from smaller opposition parties, the Democratic Party only needs eight members of the ruling party to meet the required 200-vote threshhold.

With Han now calling for Yoon's removal, it's more likely those eight votes will come through.

If successful, the motion will suspend the president as a trial against him proceeds in the constitutional court.

Should two-thirds of the court's nine-member council see fit to impeach him, Yoon will be removed, and a replacement must be elected within 60 days.

The South Korean won weakened immediately after Yoon declared martial law to about 1,440 against the US dollar but recovered to 1,420 on Wednesday, a difference of 1.4% from the day before.

• South Korea's president, Yoon Suk Yeol, declared martial law in a televised address on Tuesday.
• Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party told CNN he thought it was a digital fake.
• Lee went viral after livestreaming himself climbing a fence to get to the National Assembly.

Lee Jae-myung, South Korea's main opposition leader, initially thought the president's martial law declaration was a deepfake.

"I was lying in bed with my wife in our home … when my wife suddenly showed me a YouTube video and said, 'The president is declaring martial law,'" Lee Jae-myung told CNN.

Lee said he was convinced it was a digitally manipulated video.

"I replied, 'That's a deepfake. It has to be a deepfake. There's no way that's real,'" he added.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shocked the world on Tuesday when he announced he was imposing martial law during a late-night address.

The decree, which enabled temporary military control and the suspension of civilian government activities and civil liberties, was the first since the country's democratization in 1987.

Yoon said the declaration was necessary to prevent subversion by North Korea, South Korea's longtime enemy, but it's likely he was seeking to quash domestic opposition and bolster his power.

He backpedaled six hours later, after the streets were filled with protesters. The decree was voted against by MPs who had to cross barricades and climb walls to make it into the National Assembly.

Lee went viral on social media for livestreaming himself climbing over a fence to the National Assembly building so he could vote against the decree. He described Yoon's move as unconstitutional.

Calls for the president's resignation are growing. According to the Yonhap news agency, all six opposition parties filed an impeachment motion on Wednesday, with a vote set for Friday or Saturday.

Yoon came to power in 2022, narrowly defeating Lee in the most closely contested presidential election in South Korean history.

Since then, his presidency has been riddled with controversy and low approval ratings.

Several senior government figures, including the defense minister, have resigned from their posts.

In the immediate aftermath, the South Korean won plunged as much as 3% relative to the US dollar.

• South Korea's president, Yoon Suk-yeol, declared martial law late on Tuesday in a surprise announcement.
• It sparked a night of urgency in Seoul as lawmakers, troops, and protesters raced to parliament.
• Here's what unfolded over the crucial six hours that squashed Yoon's move.

South Korea's president, Yoon Suk-yeol, shocked the nation on Tuesday evening by declaring martial law.

The measure, voted down unanimously by parliament hours later, plunged Seoul into a night of confusion.

The National Assembly building became the epicenter of the early morning's dramatic events, as lawmakers raced to reverse Yoon's decision, military forces tried to enforce martial law, and thousands of residents arrived in protest.

Just before dawn, Yoon rescinded his declaration of martial law, returning rule to the civilian government.

Here's how Yoon's night of short-lived martial law transpired.

10:27 p.m. — Yoon declares martial law

Yoon, a conservative leader who narrowly won the 2022 election, announced his decision in an unannounced broadcast on live TV.

He accused opposition parties of trying to take parliament hostage, saying he was removing pro-North Korean forces in the country.

"I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order," he said.

Yoon has been struggling to pass laws because his party's main rival, the Democratic Party, secured a majority in parliament during the legislative elections in April.

South Koreans react with confusion

In the entertainment district of Hongdae, 29-year-old Kim Hongmin was watching the news with his friends.

"It felt unreal. Martial law was something I had only studied as part of Korea's historical events, I never imagined I would actually experience it myself," Kim, a freelance English translator, told Business Insider.

The last time martial law was declared in South Korea was in 1980, when a military dictatorship took over.

10:45 p.m. — Parliament leaders denounce the decision

In an early blow to Yoon's declaration, the leader of his own party, Han Dong-hoon, quickly told local media that the move was "wrong."

"We will block it together with the people," Han said, per the Yonhap news agency.

Yonhap also reported that the opposition leader, Lee Jae-Myung, said Yoon had declared martial law "illegally and unconstitutionally against the people."

10:50 p.m. — Parliament mobilizes to stop Yoon

Both parties issued summons to their members, telling them to convene for an emergency vote.

Lee, who runs the Democratic Party, live-streamed himself on the way to the National Assembly, urging people to protest outside the building.

"Tanks, armored vehicles, and soldiers with guns and swords will rule this country," he said.

In Hongdae, Kim and his friends decided to heed the call to protest, driving to Yeouido, where the National Assembly is located.

"I didn't know what I could do, but I just felt that I had to be there," he told BI. Thousands of others would also make their way to the complex.

11 p.m. — Martial law takes effect

The race was on. Lawmakers were trying to vote quickly against Yoon's decision.

With martial law in action, troops would move to seize control of all political mechanisms.

Photos show that police began to set up a perimeter at the National Assembly building. Protesters started arriving.

The speaker of parliament, Woo Won-shik, said lawmakers would open a session as soon as enough of them were present to hold a vote — 150 assembly members.

11:15 p.m. — Lawmakers jump fences and walls to get inside

The politicians, including Woo, rushed to the National Assembly building. Some had to navigate barricades as protesters shouted for officers to let them through.

Kim, the translator, said that when he arrived, he filmed aides and journalists climbing over fences.

"It turned out that all entrances to the National Assembly were blocked by the police," he said.

Lee, the opposition leader who had been live-streaming his journey to the complex, ended his broadcast after hopping a fence and arriving at his office.

At about 11:40 p.m., veteran lawmaker Park Jie-won wrote on social media that over 100 opposition members had already gathered.

11:45 p.m. — Crowds assemble outside parliament premises

Protesters started to throng the streets outside the National Assembly complex.

"I began shouting: 'Abolish martial law!' It was the only thing I could do," Kim said. "Others joined in and were chanting the same."

Park Minjun, a 27-year-old graduate student who was present, told BI that there seemed to be no central leadership among the crowds.

Those who arrived first were party members and unionists, he said. Other civilians and families would join them in the cold, but only about an hour later.

Before midnight — News emerges that Yoon appointed his martial law commander

Meanwhile, South Korean media broke the news that Yoon had appointed Park An-soo, the army's chief of staff and a four-star general, as the commander overseeing martial law.

Park laid out a series of rules, including full state control of the press, the banning of worker strikes, and the prohibition of rallies.

Notably, he declared that any activities of the National Assembly would have to cease.

12 a.m. — Martial law forces reach the complex

As the National Assembly started to meet its quorum requirement, the first of the martial law forces arrived outside. Three helicopters unloaded armed teams with tactical gear.

Watching the troops pour out of their choppers, Kim recalled the last time martial law had been declared, when soldiers massacred protesters in the Gwangju uprising four decades ago.

"Would the tragic history of soldiers shooting civilians repeat itself?" he said.

A small crowd of protesters and aides had pushed into the complex and stationed themselves at the main entrance of the parliament building.

Scuffling with the arriving military teams, they stalled these forces from entering the main hall for some time.

12:30 a.m. — Troops clash inside the building

Eventually, the troops broke into the building via glass windows. But they were soon met by parliamentary aides, who had blocked corridors to the main voting hall with chairs and desks.

In one tense encounter, a civilian tried to drive back military forces by spraying a fire extinguisher.

Within the voting hall, politicians called for the count to start immediately, but Woo insisted they would follow procedure.

12:45 a.m. — Korean currency dives to its lowest in years

The Korean won began to plunge as soon as Yoon declared martial law and now had reached its weakest, at about 1,442 against the US dollar.

12:48 a.m. — Lawmakers vote to lift martial law

Led by Woo, the National Assembly officially began the vote on reversing martial law. At that time, 190 of the assembly's 300 members were present.

In less than a minute, every single person voted to rescind Yoon's declaration.

From the count, it's clear that those who voted to strike down Yoon's decision included more than just the opposition — which has 175 seats.

1 a.m. — Troops leave the building

Heckled by aides and protesters, the troops departed the building almost immediately after the measure passed.

Almost immediately after the vote, the won recovered to about 1,420 against the dollar, or about 1.4% weaker than Tuesday.

1:10 a.m. — Protesters linger

Kim said that as news of the successful vote reached the protesters, cheers broke out among the crowd.

"I was conflicted, but I saw hope," he said. He and some 4,000 other protesters, including Park, stayed outside out of fear martial law would still continue.

4:26 a.m. — Yoon relents

Six hours after his shock announcement, Yoon acceded to the National Assembly's vote and declared an end to martial law.

4:40 a.m. — Martial law is lifted and troops withdraw

Yoon's martial law was officially rescinded by an emergency Cabinet meeting, and dispatched forces returned to their bases.

With the threat of martial law receding, protesters like Kim and Park decided to return home.

8 a.m. — South Koreans wake up to an uncertain future

For many Seoul residents like Lee Tae-hoon, news of martial law — declared and then rescinded — arrived only in the morning.

Lee, a 28-year-old researcher at a university, said he relies on his friends to get his news and he woke up to texts about what transpired the night before.

"After today, I'll probably take voting more seriously," Lee told BI. He did not vote in the last election, which Yoon won.

Despite the reckoning the country just faced, Lee said life had moved on quickly. He received a text from his boss not to show up to work, but said he was on deadline for a project and clocked in anyway.

"It looks like everyone came to work as normal, seeing that the carpark was full," Lee said.

What happens next?

"It is not clear what Yoon was trying to achieve," said Ellen Kim, a senior fellow at the Korea Chair for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, with regard to Yoon's decision to implement martial law.

"He may have thought he did not have much choice to break the political paralysis of his government created by the opposition parties that hold a majority in the National Assembly," she told BI.

The president now faces motions of impeachment filed by the opposition. His party leader, Han, urged that the defense minister also be removed over reports that the latter suggested the idea of martial law to Yoon.

Several senior aides to the president have also offered to resign, per South Korean media.

Kim, the CSIS fellow, said Seoul is already in a tense position internationally, with North Korea engaging in the Ukraine war and with Donald Trump soon taking the US presidency.

"The political vacuum created by Yoon's departure will create a huge political instability in South Korea," she said of the possibility that Yoon steps down.

Meanwhile, protesters like Kim, the translator, say they're not done. Kim is joining a protest at Gwanghwamun on Wednesday evening and Saturday to call for Yoon's impeachment. Counter-protesters have also taken to the streets to defend Yoon.

Seoul's younger generation, Kim said, has lived through tragedies like the Itaewon Halloween crowd crush, which sent Yoon's popularity plummeting.

"We share a collective sense of grief and urgency," he said.

Correction: December 4, 2024 — This story was updated to clarify the status of several senior aides to South Korea's president. The aides were widely reported to have offered to resign; it's unclear whether those resignations were approved or whether they have left their roles.

• South Korea's largest labor union has issued an indefinite general strike.
• The call went out to its 1.1M members after South Korea's president declared martial law.
• It said the strike would last until the president stepped down.

South Korea's largest labor union launched an indefinite general strike late on Tuesday, calling for the country's embattled president to resign after he declared martial law.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions issued the call in a Facebook post to its 1.1 million members, saying the strike would start Wednesday at 9 a.m. local time and would last until the president's "regime" abolished martial law and the president stepped down.

President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Tuesday, only to rescind the decree six hours later. It was a stunning move that threw the Asian country into political and economic disarray.

The decree, which suspended civilian government functions and established temporary military control, was South Korea's first declaration of martial law since the country's democratization in 1987.

Yoon justified the move in a televised address on Tuesday, saying it was necessary to counter North Korea and "anti-state forces," while also criticizing the country's opposition politicians.

In the aftermath, the South Korean won dropped to its lowest level since October 2022, but trimmed losses in Asian hours.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the Korean Confederation of Trade Union described Yoon's declaration of martial law as "anti-democratic" and one that South Korea's "people will not forgive."

Andrew Minjun Park, a 27-year-old graduate student at Seoul National University, who joined protests on Tuesday night, told BI that the president had "crossed the line" when he involved the military.

Meanwhile, South Korea's former foreign minister, Kang Kyung-hwa, told CNN that the president's move and the way it was handled was "completely unacceptable" and an "aberration."

According to the Yonhap news agency, 10 senior aides working for Yoon, including his chief of staff, offered to resign on Wednesday.

Calls for the president's resignation have been growing. All six opposition parties filed a motion to impeach Yoon on Wednesday, with plans to put it to a vote on Friday or Saturday.

To remove him from office, a two-thirds majority in Parliament and at least six justices of the nine-member Constitutional Court would be required, per the Associated Press.

Yoon has been dubbed a "lame-duck president" because he holds the nation's highest position without a majority in the legislature.

Robert E. Kelly, a professor of political science at Pusan National University, told India's WION news on Wednesday that Yoon's "approval rating is under 20%, so he has no strong public backing to help keep him in office to overcome this."

"If he decides to stay, he'll almost certainly face impeachment," Kelly added.