Calls for South Korea's president to be impeached

South Korean politicians called for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol after he declared martial law only to reverse the move hours later, triggering the biggest political crisis in decades in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The surprise declaration ignited a standoff with parliament which rejected his attempt to ban political activity and censor the media, with politicians at one point using fire extinguishers to prevent troops from entering parliament.

A coalition of politicians from opposition parties said they planned to propose a bill to impeach Mr Yoon which should be voted on within 72 hours.

"The parliament should focus on immediately suspending the president's business to pass an impeachment bill soonest," HwangUn-ha, one of MPs in the coalition, told reporters.

Mr Yoon told the nation in a TV address that martial law was needed to defend the country from nuclear-armed North Korea and pro-North anti-state forces, and protect its free constitutional order, although he cited no specific threats.

Within hours, South Korea's parliament, with 190 of its 300 members present, unanimously passed a motion requiring martial law be lifted, including all 18 members present from Mr Yoon's Party.

The president then rescinded the declaration.

Protesters outside the National Assembly parliament shouted and clapped.

South Korea's largest union coalition, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said thousands of its members would strike until Mr Yoon resigned and held a rally later in the day in downtown Seoul.

Several other protests are expected, including near the National Assembly where thousands of people gathered to call for blocking

Mr Yoon's order and then demand his arrest and resignation.

South Korean stocks opened down around 2%, while the won steadied to trade around 1,418 to the dollar, having plunged to a two-year low.

Dodged a bullet

After Mr Yoon's announcement of martial law, South Korea's military had said activities by parliament and political parties would be banned, and that media and publishers would be under the control of the martial law command.

Troops briefly tried to enter the parliament building.

Parliamentary aides were seen trying to push the soldiers back by spraying fire extinguishers.

The main opposition Democratic Party called for Mr Yoon, who has been in office since 2022, to resign or face impeachment over the martial law declaration, the first in South Korea since 1980.

"Even if martial law is lifted, he cannot avoid treason charges. It was clearly revealed to the entire nation that President Yoon could no longer run the country normally. He should step down," senior DP member of parliament Park Chan-dae said in a statement.

The National Assembly can impeach the president if more than two-thirds of politicians vote for it.

A trial is then held by the constitutional court, which can confirm it with a vote by six of the nine justices.

Mr Yoon's party controls 108 seats in the 300-member legislature.

"South Korea as a nation dodged a bullet, but President Yoon may have shot himself in the foot," said Danny Russel, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute think tank in the United States.

The crisis in a country that has been a democracy since the 1980s, and is a US ally and major Asian economy, caused international alarm.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he welcomed Mr Yoon's decision to rescind the martial law declaration.

Some 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea to guard against the nuclear-armed North.

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Mr Yoon, a career prosecutor, squeezed out a victory in the tightest presidential election in South Korean history in 2022.

He rode a wave of discontent over economic policy, scandals and gender wars, aiming to reshape the political future of Asia's fourth-largest economy.

But he has been unpopular, with his support ratings hovering at around 20% for months.

His People Power Party suffered a landslide defeat at a parliamentary election in April this year as opposition parties captured nearly two-thirds of the seats.