S Korea opposition plans to impeach Yoon after martial law attempt

South Korea’s opposition lawmakers have said they would immediately start the process to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed attempt to impose martial law.

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 finally a sudden reversal of the decision.

South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party said on Wednesday that it wants to charge Yoon with “crimes of rebellion”.

Schools, banks and government offices in Seoul were operating as usual, but protests have continued throughout the city.

“Arrest Yoon Suk-yeol,” angry citizens chanted as they filled the streets.

The Democratic Party also named Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, as “key participants” of the martial law declaration, saying it also wanted them charged alongside Yoon.

“The [party] condemns the unconstitutional and illegal emergency martial law of Yoon Seok Yeol’s regime as a crime of rebellion.

“I urge the investigative agencies to immediately launch an investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice as the entire nation is aware of the rebellion,” the party’s spokesman Seung Rae-cho told reporters.

Wednesday’s announcement comes after dramatic scenes overnight, which saw some opposition lawmakers break barricades and climb fences to get to the voting chamber.

Hundreds of troops stormed the parliament after Yoon declared martial law, as military helicopters circled the site.

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.

His second announcement – that he was reversing his earlier order – was met with cheers from protesters outside South Korea’s parliament early on Wednesday.

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.

The president himself, however, has remained silent since his short-lived declaration of military rule.

Once an impeachment bill is proposed, more than two-thirds of South Korea’s 300-member National Assembly must vote to impeach – that translates to at least 201 votes. The vote must take place within 72 hours.

Once the impeachment is approved, the president will immediately be suspended from office, while the prime minister becomes acting president.

A trial will then be held before the Constitutional Court, a nine-member council that oversees South Korea’s branches of government.

If six of the court’s members vote to sustain the impeachment, the president will be removed from office.

In 2016, then-President Park Guen-hye was impeached after she was charged with bribery, abusing state power and leaking state secrets.

In 2004, another South Korean president, Roh Moo-hyun, was impeached and suspended for two months. The Constitutional Court later restored him to office.

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.

Under South Korea’s constitution, the president has the authority to declare martial law during war, armed conflict, or other national emergencies.

The last time martial law was declared in in the country was in 1979, when the country’s long-time military dictator Park Chung-hee was assassinated in a coup.

A group of military leaders, led by General Chun Doo-hwan, declared martial law in 1980, banning political activities and arresting dissidents.

Hundreds of people died amid a crackdown on protesters before martial law was lifted in 1981.

Martial law has not been invoked since South Korea became a parliamentary democracy in 1987.

Yoon pulled the trigger on Tuesday, saying he was trying to save the country from “anti-state forces”.

But some analysts have described the move as his bid to thwart political opposition.

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.

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.