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South Korea’s opposition parties moved swiftly on Wednesday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, hours after his failed attempt to impose martial law triggered the country’s worst constitutional crisis in decades.

About 190 lawmakers from six opposition parties submitted an impeachment motion, intending to discuss the bill in parliament on Thursday before a vote on Friday or Saturday.

“[Yoon] is someone who can press the button to start war or declare martial law again. He is the one who can put South Korea in biggest jeopardy now,” said Cho Kuk, leader of one of the opposition parties, who urged the country’s legal authorities to arrest Yoon immediately for investigation over treason.

“We should immediately suspend his presidential duties by impeaching him.”

The move to try to oust Yoon heralds further political turmoil in the country of 52mn, Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a key US ally.

It came after the conservative president declared martial law in an unscheduled national broadcast late on Tuesday, saying he needed to purge South Korea of “anti-state forces” and “normalise the country”.

Yoon backed down hours later, lifting the order after it was unanimously rejected by the opposition-controlled legislature. Troops sent to surround the parliament building were withdrawn.

South Korea’s main opposition, the Democratic party, said Yoon’s declaration of martial law “was a grave violation of the constitution”.

“This amounts to a clear act of treason and is a perfect reason to impeach him,” it said in a statement.

“[Yoon] is likely to make another attempt as his first attempt at a martial decree failed,” Lee Jae-myung, the party leader, told a rally in the parliamentary compound. “But we face a bigger risk where he can provoke North Korea and run the risk of an armed clash with North Korea by destabilising the divided border.”

Yoon’s bid to impose martial law — the first in the country since democracy was restored in the 1980s — came after months of tensions with his rivals in parliament.

Following the night of upheaval, South Korea’s financial authorities vowed to prop up markets with “unlimited” liquidity. The Bank of Korea said after an emergency meeting on Wednesday that it was “keeping all options open until the markets stabilise”.

The won, which weakened sharply against the dollar following Yoon’s declaration of martial law, recovered.

The benchmark Kospi index fell nearly 2 per cent. Shares of Samsung Electronics, the country’s biggest company, fell 1.1 per cent.

Any attempt to impeach Yoon would require a two-thirds vote in favour by the 300-member National Assembly. Opposition parties have a total of 192 seats, so a bill could pass with the support of more than eight members of Yoon’s own party.

In the event of a vote for impeachment, Yoon would be suspended immediately from his presidential duties until a final ruling by South Korea’s constitutional court.

A new election must be held within 60 days of a president being removed from office or resigning. The prime minister would take over in an acting capacity.

If lawmakers do not vote for impeachment, there may be more demonstrations, said Choi Jin-bong, a professor of journalism and broadcasting at Sungkonghoe University. “Public protests will likely swell, forcing them to vote for impeachment again,” he said.

Yoon’s abandonment of his attempt to impose martial law was welcomed by the US, South Korea’s most important ally.

Secretary of state Antony Blinken said the US had “watched closely developments over the last 24 hours”.

“We welcome President Yoon’s statement that he would rescind the order declaring emergency martial law,” Blinken said in a statement. “We continue to expect political disagreements to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law.”

Earlier, Yoon’s own conservative People Power party called for the president to sack his defence minister, Kim Yong-hyun, who it believes suggested declaring martial law. Party leaders are discussing if Yoon should leave the party, according to state-run Yonhap News.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the country’s leading umbrella labour group, called for an indefinite strike until Yoon stepped down.

A Trump National Doral sign is seen at the golf resort owned by U.S. President Donald Trump’s company on August 27, 2019 in Doral, Florida.

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A Trump National Doral sign is seen at the golf resort owned by U.S. President Donald Trump’s company on August 27, 2019 in Doral, Florida.

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Just before Donald Trump took office the first time, he held a press conference, announcing that he would turn over control of his business empire to his sons.

He said he wanted to address concerns about conflicts of interest even though he maintained he didn’t really have to. Saying, “I could actually run my business. I could actually run my business and run government at the same time. I don’t like the way that looks, but I would be able to do that if I wanted to.”

Trump’s second term may put that theory to the test. The former and future president hasn’t yet announced any plan to wall himself off from his businesses while in office, and Trump’s businesses like his many hotels and resorts could benefit substantially from his actions as President.

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This episode was produced by Connor Donevan..

It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Yoon Suk Yeol vowed that as South Korean president he would “rebuild this great nation” into one “that truly belongs to the people” when he delivered his inauguration speech in May 2022.

Instead, his presidency has been marked by mounting unpopularity and political dysfunction, culminating on Tuesday in his declaration of martial law in the country for the first time in more than four decades.

Yoon has faced serious challenges from the start of his term, entering power with a low approval rating and a parliament dominated by the opposition.

The 63-year-old former prosecutor, who played major roles in the successful prosecutions of former presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, had never held a political role before announcing his presidential candidacy in 2021.

In 2019, he was appointed as prosecutor-general by his predecessor as president, liberal Moon Jae-in — but their relationship soured after Yoon launched an investigation into Moon’s justice minister, significantly raising Yoon’s public profile. After his resignation in March 2021, Yoon secured the presidential nomination of the conservative People Power party.

In the election the following year he eked out a victory against his liberal rival by just 0.73 per cent — the narrowest margin in any South Korean presidential contest.

Yoon had an early taste of the challenge he would face from the opposition-controlled parliament when he struggled to gain approval for his preferred cabinet nominees, four of whom were forced to withdraw amid allegations of impropriety.

The difficulties continued as Yoon tried to pass legislation. As of January 2024, only 29 per cent of bills submitted to parliament by his government had been passed.

Yoon responded by wielding the presidential veto power to strike down opposition-sponsored legislation, vetoing more laws than any of his predecessors since the end of military rule in 1987.

Early in his term, he made a point of informally taking questions from journalists as he arrived at work. But his relationship with the media soured as he targeted critical reporting, with police and prosecutors repeatedly deployed against supposed publishers of “fake news”.

Another public relations setback came when Yoon announced a plan to relocate his office from the historic “Blue House” palace in central Seoul to a defence ministry complex. Yoon hoped that his more down-to-earth work setting would make him seem more in touch with the general public, but he faced an outcry over the cost of implementing the plan.

Other fights have come over critical policy areas, including education — Yoon was forced to drop a plan to make children start school a year earlier — and health, with doctors undertaking a long-running strike over pay and conditions.

His unpopularity was underscored by parliamentary elections this April, which delivered another large majority for the opposition Democratic party.

Opposition lawmakers have since been pushing for an investigation into Yoon and his wife over allegations, which Yoon has strongly denied, of improper dealings with a polling agency owner.

Yoon has sometimes found a warmer reception overseas — notably during a state visit to Washington in April last year, when he delighted President Joe Biden with a rendition of the 1970s song American Pie. Yoon also became the first South Korean president to attend a meeting of Nato and extended significant aid to Ukraine, as he deepened military and security collaboration with the US and Japan.

This drew criticism from the opposition, who accused him of antagonising China, the country’s most important trading partner.

In contrast with his predecessor Moon, who favoured dialogue with North Korea, Yoon has taken a harder line towards Pyongyang, which has responded with more missile tests during his rule.

As the parliamentary resistance has continued, Yoon has become increasingly frustrated — particularly over the opposition’s attempts to impeach prominent members of his administration and its refusal to pass his proposed annual budget. The opposition has countered with a smaller package, which Yoon said would mean unacceptable cuts to areas including disaster preparedness and child care support.

“The legislative dictatorship of the Democratic party . . . uses even the budget as a means of political struggle,” Yoon said on Tuesday in his speech announcing martial law.

Hours later he said he intended to lift the “emergency” measure after lawmakers voted it down in parliament — leaving his own position more uncertain amid one of the most serious constitutional crises in South Korea’s modern history.