Protests call for South Korean president to quit over martial law order

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol faces demands to resign following a bungled imposition of martial law.

Yoon’s order on Tuesday to impose martial law on South Korea plunged the country into deep turmoil and caught allies around the world off guard. It brought thousands of protesters to the streets before lawmakers voted it down.

The dramatic developments have left the future of Yoon – a conservative politician and former star public prosecutor elected president in 2022 – in jeopardy.

South Korea’s main opposition party, whose lawmakers jumped fences and tussled with security forces so they could vote to overturn the law, have demanded Yoon’s immediate resignation.

The leader of Yoon’s own ruling party described the order to declare martial law “tragic” and called for those involved to be held accountable.

Following the president’s order, more than 280 troops, backed by 24 helicopters, had arrived at parliament to lock down the site. But 190 lawmakers defied the soldiers to force their way into parliament to vote to reverse the move.

Democratic South Korea is a major ally of the United States, but Washington, which stations nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea due to the threat from the nuclear-armed North, said it was not given advance notice of Yoon’s plan.

China, a key ally of North Korea, urged its nationals in the South to stay calm and exercise caution. Japan said it was monitoring the situation with “exceptional and serious concerns”.