President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law, then backed off, in a matter of hours. He now faces impeachment and mass protests.

An abortive coup in South Korea was probably not on anyone's bingo card for 2024. Great Power tensions have tended to dominate. Enter President Yoon Suk Yeol, who shocked the world by declaring martial law on Tuesday night,

The opposition-controlled parliament overturned the the martial law edict, and his rivals on Wednesday took steps to impeach him.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has accepted the resignation of Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and nominated ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Choi Byung-hyuk, as new defence minister, Yonhap news reported on Thursday.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s surprise declaration of emergency martial law lasted only six hours. But it has plunged South Korea – a key Asian economy and U.S. ally – into a political crisis that could last much longer.

Candle-lit vigils and rallies were held across South Korea on Wednesday, a nation outraged and frustrated by the president’s surprise declaration of martial law the night before called for his resignation.

South Korean lawmakers began impeachment proceedings against President Yoon Suk Yeol after he briefly imposed martial law and then reversed course on that decision just hours later. Yoon claimed martial law was necessary to protect the country from "North Korea's communist forces" and to "eliminate anti-state elements.

At his confirmation hearing three months ago, South Korea's defence minister Kim Yong-hyun rejected accusations from the opposition that he wanted to impose martial law. It was, the conservative hardliner said,

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shocked the nation in a televised address, declaring martial law and calling in troops to secure the National Assembly building where parliament sits