24 hours of chaos: South Korea's short-lived martial law

South Korea has endured almost 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 accuse Yoon of a slide towards authoritarianism.

One lawmaker, Kim Min-seok, in September goes 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 dismiss his prediction as fantasy.

 Tuesday, 10:24 pm  

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

Yoon, whose party has been locked in a legislative dispute over next year's budget bill, claims the opposition had "paralysed governance" and parliament is a "haven for criminals".

 10:40 pm  

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung livestreams himself being driven to the National Assembly, calling on lawmakers and protestors to join him in opposing the "illegal imposition of martial law".

An emergency session is scheduled for later that night.

 Wednesday, 00:27 am  

As lawmakers scramble to parliament to vote, helicopters full of heavily-armed special forces begin landing at the building, as other troops scale perimeter fences and smash windows to get in.

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

Enraged by Yoon's actions, thousands of protestors also make their way to parliament to demonstrate.

The president "has paved his own path to impeachment with this," Lim Myeong-pan, 55, tells AFP.

 1:01 am  

At 1:01 am, the National Assembly starts a plenary session to lift the martial law declaration, and -- at 1:03 am -- quickly votes 190-0 to approve it -- formally requesting that Yoon lift it immediately.

Soon after, the heavily-armed soldiers begin withdrawing from the building.

  4:29 am  

Hours pass as calls grow from lawmakers for Yoon to accept the legislature's decision and lift martial law.

At 4:29 am, Yoon makes another televised address, saying he will accept the National Assembly's demand and lift martial law. His cabinet quickly approve the move.

  9:00 am  

At 9am when the stock market opened, the benchmark index KOSPI dropped 2.3 percent, as news of the political turmoil sends 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".

  2:40 pm 
 The opposition immediately vow to push for impeachment, and at 2:40 pm Wednesday afternoon, file an official motion.

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

Opposition lawmakers also quickly file 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," says Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, referring to the incident where supporters of Donald Trump stormed the US Congress.

"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 adds.

"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."

  6:00 pm 

Thousands of people begin 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, tells AFP as she hands out hot chocolate to demonstrators.

  6:20 pm  

South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun apologises and offers to resign over the turmoil, saying he "deeply regret(s) and take full responsibility for the confusion and concern".

President Yoon himself cancels 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 Wednesday.

"I would like to take this opportunity to issue my sincere apology," Jang told a popular political YouTube talkshow.

  8:00 pm 
Thousands of protesters head to the presidential office to demand Yoon's resignation.

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