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EPA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nSouth Korea’s opposition lawmakers have begun impeachment proceedings against President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed attempt to impose martial law. <\/p>\n The country woke up to an uncertain reality on Wednesday after a night of unprecedented scenes which saw Yoon unexpectedly impose martial law, 190 lawmakers gathering to vote it down, and a sudden reversal of the decision. <\/p>\n After tabling the impeachment motion, South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party condemned Yoon’s initial martial law declaration as “insurrectionary behaviour”. <\/p>\n Parliament will have to vote <\/b>on whether to impeach Yoon by Saturday. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n “We can no longer allow democracy to collapse. The lives and safety of the people must be protected,” said Kim Yong-jin, a member of the Democratic party’s central committee.<\/p>\n The Party also said it wants to charge Yoon with “crimes of rebellion”. <\/p>\n It named Minister Kim Yong-hyun and Interior Minister Lee Sang-min as “key participants” of the martial law declaration, <\/b>saying it also wanted them charged alongside Yoon.<\/p>\n Schools, banks and government offices in Seoul are operating as usual, but protests have continued throughout the city.<\/p>\n “Arrest Yoon Suk-yeol,” some angry citizens chanted as they filled the streets.<\/p>\n South Korea’s largest labour group, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, vowed on Wednesday to go on indefinite strike until the president steps down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Wednesday’s announcement comes after dramatic scenes overnight, which saw some opposition lawmakers break barricades and climb fences to get to the voting chamber. <\/p>\n Hundreds of troops stormed the parliament after Yoon declared martial law, as military helicopters circled the site.<\/p>\n Thousands of protesters arrived at the gates of the National Assembly, as 190 lawmakers evaded police lines and forced themselves inside to vote down the order.<\/p>\n His second announcement – that he was reversing his earlier order – was met with cheers from protesters outside South Korea’s parliament.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Yoon’s senior aides, including chief of staff Chung Jin-suk and national security adviser Shin Won-sik, tendered their resignations. Whether their resignations will be accepted is unclear.<\/p>\n The presidential office has defended the initial decision to declare martial law as “strictly within [the country’s] constitutional framework”. It said on Wednesday that the announcement was timed to “minimise damage” to the economy and people’s lives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Once an impeachment bill is proposed, two-thirds of South Korea’s 300-member National Assembly must vote to impeach – that translates to at least 200 votes. The vote must take place within 72 hours. <\/p>\n Once the impeachment is approved, the president will immediately be suspended from office, while the prime minister becomes acting president. <\/p>\n A trial will then be held before the Constitutional Court, a nine-member council that oversees South Korea’s branches of government.<\/p>\n If six of the court’s members vote to sustain the impeachment, the president will be removed from office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In 2016, then-President Park Guen-hye was impeached after she was charged with bribery, abusing state power and leaking state secrets.<\/p>\n In 2004, another South Korean president, Roh Moo-hyun, was impeached and suspended for two months. The Constitutional Court later restored him to office.<\/p>\n If Yoon resigns or is impeached, the government will have to hold an election within 60 days for the country to vote for its new leader, who will start a fresh five-year term.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Under South Korea’s constitution, the president has the authority to declare martial law during war, armed conflict, or other national emergencies. <\/p>\n The last time martial law was declared in the country was in 1979, when the country’s long-time military dictator Park Chung-hee was assassinated in a coup.<\/p>\n A group of military leaders, led by General Chun Doo-hwan, declared martial law in 1980, banning political activities and arresting dissidents. <\/p>\n Hundreds of people died amid a crackdown on protesters before martial law was lifted in 1981.<\/p>\n Martial law has not been invoked since South Korea became a parliamentary democracy in 1987.<\/p>\n Yoon pulled the trigger on Tuesday, saying he was trying to save the country from “anti-state forces”. <\/p>\n But some analysts have described the move as his bid to thwart political opposition. <\/p>\n Yoon has been a lame duck president since the opposition won a landslide in the country’s general election in April this year – his government has not been able to pass the laws it wanted and has been reduced instead to vetoing bills the opposition has proposed.<\/p>\n The president’s approval ratings have hit record lows of 17% this year, as he and his wife Kim Keon-hee have been mired in a spate of scandals. <\/p>\n Additional reporting by Woongbee Lee in Seoul and Frances Mao in London<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
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Reuters<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nHow do impeachments work in South Korea?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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EPA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nHave other South Korean presidents been impeached? <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
South Korea’s history with martial law<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n