An effort has been made to remove South Korea’s president due to concerns about his mental health and the possibility of a new martial law attempt following a recent incident.

Less than a day after South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, he is already facing impeachment as chaos grips the nation.

Critics including opposition lawmakers, journalists, and political analysts are questioning the president’s mental stability, dismissing his dramatic actions as mere ‘political suicide’.

President Yoon invoked martial law on Tuesday evening, citing the need to combat ‘pro-North Korean, anti-state forces’, but many view this move as an opportunistic power grab rather than a genuine security measure.

Soldiers stormed Seoul’s National Assembly as armed police and riot cops were deployed to hold off hordes of enraged protesters trying to storm the parliament buildings.  

But just hours later Yoon was forced to back down following a dramatic standoff with his horrified parliament, who unanimously rejected his attempt to ban political activity and censor the media.

Now, South Korea’s opposition parties – whose lawmakers jumped fences and tussled with security forces to vote down the law have already filed a motion to impeach Yoon, with a vote expected as early as Friday. 

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung warned that the ruling party ‘will try (martial law) again when the situation is organised and improved’, while MP Joon Hyung Kim told the BBC that Yoon’s ‘impulsive’ decision showed ‘maybe he’s not in his right mind’.

Yoon, whose approval ratings were already poor following a string of scandals including corruption and influence-peddling allegations against his wife, was also ruthlessly criticised by South Korean journalists and political experts.   

‘The reckless, unpopular president has effectively committed political suicide,’ said Kang Won-taek, a political- science professor at Seoul National University.

Yeom Joo-young, a veteran journalist, told This Week in Asia: ‘By staking his political future on this reckless gamble, he has failed miserably… Ironically, this crisis could serve as a turning point to end the prolonged political instability of Yoon’s presidency and pave the way for a restoration of order earlier than expected.’

‘We’ve submitted an impeachment motion prepared urgently,’ representatives for six opposition parties including the main Democratic Party said at a live press briefing.

They added that they would discuss when to put it to a vote, but it could come as soon as Friday.

The opposition holds a large majority in the 300-member parliament and needs only a handful of defections from the president’s party to secure the two-thirds majority needed to pass the motion. 

Earlier the DP said it would file charges of ‘insurrection,’ against Yoon, his defence and interior ministers and ‘key military and police figures involved, such as the martial law commander and the police chief’, the DP said in a statement. 

The nation’s largest umbrella labour union called an ‘indefinite general strike’ until Yoon resigns. 

Even the leader of Yoon’s own ruling party described the attempt as ‘tragic’ while calling for those involved to be held accountable. 

South Korean Yonhap news agency said the cabinet had agreed in the early hours of Wednesday to scrap the martial law. 

Protesters outside parliament shouted and clapped while chanting ‘We won!’, and one demonstrator banged on a drum. 

But Cho Kuk, head of a minor opposition party, met protesters outside parliament and said: ‘This isn’t over. He put all the people in shock.’ He vowed to impeach Yoon by putting together votes from other parties.

This is a breaking story, more to follow.