South Korea's president faces impeachment as failed bid to impose martial law sparks chaos

South Korea's absorption parties connected Wednesday submitted a question to impeach president Yoon Suk Yeol, hours aft helium ended a short-lived martial instrumentality that prompted troops to encircle parliament earlier lawmakers voted to assistance it.

Impeaching Mr Yoon would necessitate the enactment of two-thirds of parliament for the question and past the backing of astatine slightest six Constitutional Court justices.

The question submitted connected Wednesday could beryllium enactment to a ballot arsenic aboriginal arsenic Friday, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min said.

On Tuesday night, Mr Yoon abruptly imposed the exigency martial law, vowing to destruct "anti-state" forces aft helium struggled to propulsion guardant his docket successful the opposition-dominated parliament.

The wide absorption Democratic Party, which holds a bulk successful the 300-seat parliament, said connected Wednesday that its lawmakers decided to telephone connected Mr Yoon to discontinue instantly oregon they would instrumentality steps to impeach him.

"President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial instrumentality declaration was a wide usurpation of the constitution. It didn't abide by immoderate requirements to state it," the Democratic Party said successful a statement.

"His martial instrumentality declaration was primitively invalid and a sedate usurpation of the constitution. It was a sedate enactment of rebellion and provides cleanable grounds for his impeachment."

When the parliament rejected Mr Yoon's martial instrumentality declaration successful a 190-0 vote, astir 10 lawmakers from Mr Yoon's ruling People Power Party formed ballots supporting the rejection, according to National Assembly officials.

If Mr Yoon is impeached, helium volition beryllium stripped of his law powers until the Constitutional Court tin regularisation connected his fate. Prime curate Han Duck-soo, the No 2 presumption successful the South Korean government, would instrumentality implicit his statesmanlike responsibilities.

Mr Yoon's martial instrumentality declaration, the archetypal of its benignant successful much than 40 years, harkened to South Korea's past military-backed governments erstwhile authorities occasionally proclaimed martial instrumentality and different decrees that allowed them to presumption combat soldiers, tanks and armoured vehicles connected streets oregon astatine nationalist places similar schools to forestall anti-government demonstrations.

Such scenes of subject involution had not been seen since South Korea achieved a genuine ideology successful the precocious 1980s until Tuesday night.

After Mr Yoon's declaration, troops carrying rifles and constabulary officers were rapidly deployed astatine parliament to prohibition the entranceway of people, arsenic protesters crowded extracurricular the parliamentary compound.

An Associated Press lensman saw astatine slightest 3 helicopters, apt from the military, that landed wrong the Assembly grounds, portion 2 oregon 3 helicopters circled supra the site.

No large unit has been reported. The troops and constabulary unit were aboriginal seen leaving the crushed of the National Assembly aft the parliamentary ballot to assistance the martial law.

National Assembly talker Woo Won Shik said: "Even with our unfortunate memories of subject coups, our citizens person surely observed the events of contiguous and saw the maturity of our military."

Ruling People Power Party person Han Dong-hun demanded that Mr Yoon explicate his determination and occurrence defence curate Kim Yong Hyun, who helium said recommended the martial instrumentality decree to Mr Yoon. The Defence Ministry has not commented.

South Korean media reported that statesmanlike advisers and secretaries for Mr Yoon offered to resign and Mr Yoon besides enactment disconnected his authoritative docket connected Wednesday morning. The statesmanlike bureau could not instantly corroborate the reports.

Under South Korea's constitution, the president tin state martial instrumentality during "wartime, war-like situations oregon different comparable nationalist exigency states" that necessitate the usage of subject unit to restrict the state of press, assembly and different rights to support order. Many observers question whether South Korea is presently successful specified a state.

The constitution besides states that the president indispensable oblige erstwhile the National Assembly demands the lifting of martial instrumentality with a bulk vote.

Some experts accidental Mr Yoon intelligibly violated the constitution successful however helium imposed martial law. While martial instrumentality allows "special measures" to restrict idiosyncratic freedoms and the authorization of agencies and courts, the constitution does not licence the functions of parliament to beryllium restricted.

But successful pursuing Mr Yoon's declaration connected Tuesday, South Korea's subject proclaimed parliamentary activities were suspended and deployed troops to effort to artifact lawmakers from entering the National Assembly.

Park Chan-dae, the Democratic Party's level leader, called for Mr Yoon to beryllium instantly investigated connected charges of rebellion implicit the mode helium deployed troops to the parliament.

While the president mostly enjoys immunity from prosecution portion successful office, the extortion does not widen to alleged rebellion oregon treason.

In Washington, the White House said the US was "seriously concerned" by the events successful Seoul. A spokesperson for the National Security Council said President Joe Biden's medication was not notified successful beforehand of the martial instrumentality announcement and was successful interaction with the South Korean government.

Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder said determination was nary effect connected the much than 27,000 US work members based successful South Korea.

Mr Yoon's authorities and ruling enactment person been embroiled successful an impasse with the Democratic Party implicit adjacent year's fund measure and a Democratic Party-led effort to to impeach 3 apical prosecutors.

During his televised announcement, Mr Yoon besides described the absorption arsenic "shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces who are plundering the state and happiness of our citizens". He did not elaborate. North Korea has nary contiguous comments.