South Korea was engulfed successful six hours of chaos connected Tuesday nighttime aft nan nation’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, declared “emergency martial law” for nan first clip successful much than 40 years. The decree prompted an contiguous outcry, and Yoon was forced to assistance nan bid aft nan country’s National Assembly unanimously voted to overturn it.
So what happened, and what’s next?
Who is South Korea’s president?
Yoon won South Korea’s presidency successful a adjacent predetermination successful 2022, but has go profoundly unpopular amid efforts to target news organizations and clamp down connected dissent. His party, nan People Power Party, was handed a sweeping defeat successful April, which gave nan guidance statement a ample mostly that has stymied his efforts to lead.

South Korea Unification Ministry via AP
Why did Yoon state martial law?
Yoon made nan decree successful a televised reside astatine 11 p.m. connected Tuesday night, saying he was doing truthful to target wide claims of “anti-state” activities while accusing members of South Korea’s main guidance statement of moving pinch North Korea. Army Gen. Park An-Su, who was appointed arsenic martial rule commander, said that nickname barred immoderate governmental activity aliases demonstration, and each news media would beryllium placed nether “the power of martial rule command.”
Martial rule was past imposed successful South Korea successful 1980 earlier nan state became a democracy. At nan time, typical forces cracked down connected pro-democracy activists successful a convulsive spree that killed astir 200 people.
Why was nan martial rule bid truthful brief?
Many lawmakers successful South Korea’s National Assembly quickly convened for an emergency convention to respond to nan decree, and little than 3 hours later each 190 successful attendance voted unanimously to revoke nan order.
Lee Jae-myung, nan leader of nan guidance party, urged citizens to convene astatine Parliament to sound their discontent.

JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images
“There is nary logic to state martial law. We cannot fto nan subject norm this country,” Lee said successful a video while he was walking to parliament earlier Wednesday, per The New York Times. “President Yoon Suk Yeol has betrayed nan people. President Yoon’s forbidden declaration of emergency martial rule is null and void. From this infinitesimal on, Mr. Yoon is nary longer nan president of South Korea.”
South Korean rule allows martial rule to beryllium lifted pinch a mostly ballot successful parliament, and Yoon compiled by 4:30 a.m. connected Wednesday morning.
How large of a woody was it?
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a elder personnel of nan Senate Foreign Relations Committee, offered immoderate discourse to convey conscionable really stunning Tuesday’s developments were.
“It’s virtually arsenic if nan Capitol Police were astir nan perimeter of nan Senate enclosure holding disconnected nan regular Army arsenic members [of Congress] climbed done windows to get to nan level until they sewage capable members connected nan level to walk a resolution,” Coons told HuffPost connected Tuesday. The Democratic legislator was connected his measurement to a gathering to get much specifications connected what was happening.
He said 1 mobility he hoped to get answers to was whether location was grounds to backmost up Yoon’s declare that nan number statement had been colluding pinch North Korea and undermining nan information of nan country.
“I’m not alert of location having been immoderate evidence,” said Coons. “So that’s 1 of nan things I’m asking for.”
!["It's virtually arsenic if nan Capitol Police were astir nan perimeter of nan Senate enclosure holding disconnected nan regular Army arsenic members [of Congress] climbed done windows," Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) described successful remarks to HuffPost.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/674fc15e1900002300900672.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
ROBERTO SCHMIDT via Getty Images
What’s adjacent for Yoon?
South Korea’s main guidance party, nan wide Democratic Party, quickly called for Yoon’s resignation, pledging to impeach him if he doesn’t measurement down immediately.
“President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial rule declaration was a clear usurpation of nan constitution. It didn’t abide by immoderate requirements to state it,” nan statement said successful a connection connected Wednesday. “His martial rule declaration was primitively invalid and a sedate usurpation of nan constitution. It was a sedate enactment of rebellion and provides cleanable grounds for his impeachment.”
While nan Democratic Party holds a mostly successful nan 300-seat parliament, it would require a two-thirds ballot — aliases 200 members — to impeach him. The statement presently holds 192 seats successful a conjugation pinch smaller guidance parties. The Associated Press notes, however, that erstwhile lawmakers voted to overturn his martial rule decree, 10 members of Yoon’s ain statement voted pinch them.
If Yoon is removed, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo would return complete his duties.