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The country’s deeply unpopular president, Yoon Suk Yeol, stunned the nation Tuesday by declaring “emergency martial law” — a risky power play that launched an extraordinary six hours of turmoil and evoked the military dictatorships that many South Koreans believed had been consigned to the history books.

Yoon’s decree, made in a televised announcement late Tuesday night as he accused the opposition of “antistate” activities, prompted thousands of protesters demanding a return to democratic government to gather outside the National Assembly, where lawmakers convened urgently to overturn the order. With police officers forming a barricade around the parliamentary complex, some opposition lawmakers even climbed through windows to get into the voting chamber.

Before dawn Wednesday morning, Yoon said he would lift martial law in line with the parliamentary vote and withdraw troops from the streets.
He capped off his remarks with one last reference to “antistate” activities, though it came off more like an afterthought than a justification to take military control of the country.

The political roller-coaster was extreme even by the standards of South Korea, where deep polarization and combative politics often lead to dramatic power moves and countermoves.

Caption from article by Michelle Ye Hee Lee