In his inauguration speech in May 2022, Yoon Suk Yeol promised that as president of South Korea he would ‘rebuild this great nation’ and make it a nation that ‘truly belongs to the people’.

Instead, his presidency has been marked by political dysfunction and growing populism amid scandals, and discontent peaked on Tuesday when he declared martial law in the country for the first time in more than four decades.

Yoon, who came to power with a low approval rating and an opposition-dominated parliament, has faced serious challenges from the start of his term.

The 63-year-old former prosecutor, who played a key role in the prosecution of former presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, had never played a political role before announcing his candidacy for the 2021 presidential election.

Yoon was appointed attorney general in 2019 by his predecessor, the liberal Moon Jae-in, but their relationship soured after Yoon launched an investigation into Moon’s justice minister, and Yoon’s public profile rose significantly. After stepping down in March 2021, Yoon secured the presidential nomination of the conservative People Power Party.

In the following year’s election, he triumphed over his liberal rival by just 0.73 per cent – the narrowest margin in South Korean presidential elections.

As Yoon struggled to pass legislation through the opposition-controlled parliament, his favored cabinet nominees also struggled to win approval, and four were forced to withdraw amid allegations of corruption.

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

Yoon responded by using his presidential veto to overturn opposition-backed legislation, vetoing more bills than any of his predecessors since the end of military rule in 1987.

Early in his term, he made a point of answering journalists’ questions informally. But his relationship with the media soured as he targeted critical reporting, and police and prosecutors repeatedly cracked down on those who published ‘fake news’.

Another public relations setback came when Yoon announced plans to move his office from the historic Blue House palace in central Seoul to the defense ministry complex. Yoon had hoped the more down-to-earth working environment would make him more accessible to the public, but he faced a backlash over the cost of implementing the plan.

Yoon, who also faced problems on education, had to abandon his plan for children to start school a year earlier. And other battles in critical policy areas such as health led to a lengthy strike by doctors over pay and conditions.

Yoon’s waning popularity was further underlined in April’s parliamentary elections, which saw the opposition Democratic Party regain a large majority.

Opposition lawmakers have since called for an investigation into Yoon’s wife over allegations that she had an improper relationship with the owner of a polling company. Yoon has vehemently denied the allegations.

As the resistance in parliament continued, Yoon became increasingly frustrated, especially with the opposition’s refusal to pass the president’s proposed annual budget.

“The Democratic Party’s legislative dictatorship… is even using the budget as a tool of political struggle,” Yoon said in his martial law declaration speech on Tuesday.

Hours later, he said he planned to lift the ’emergency martial law’ measure after lawmakers voted for it in parliament, making his own position even more uncertain amid one of the most serious constitutional crises in South Korea’s modern history.

Not well received at home, but in the West

With his approval ratings falling at home, Yoon has received a warmer reception in the West. Most notably, he entertained President Joe Biden during a state visit to Washington in April last year by singing the 1970s song American Pie.

Yoon was also the first South Korean president to attend a NATO meeting and has deepened military and security cooperation with the U.S. and Japan, while providing significant aid to Ukraine.

This drew criticism from the opposition, which accused him of provoking China, the country’s main trading partner.

Unlike his predecessor Moon, who favored dialogue with North Korea, Yoon has taken a harder line against Pyongyang, prompting North Korea to respond with more missile tests.

South Korea’s main opposition party on Wednesday called on President Yoon Suk Yeol to resign immediately, saying he had committed the ‘crime of sedition’ by briefly declaring martial law a day earlier, which it said had spread to advisers in the leader’s inner circle.

South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party said Yoon’s declaration of martial law was a ‘gross violation of the constitution’.

“This is a clear act of treason and an excellent reason for Yoon’s dismissal,” the party said in a statement.

In a statement on behalf of floor leader Park Chan-dae, the party said Yoon, who was forced to resign as the country’s leader by a National Assembly resolution hours after he declared martial law on Tuesday night, should step down.

“It has become clear to the entire nation that President Yoon can no longer conduct state affairs normally,” the statement said.

Some 190 lawmakers from six opposition parties submitted an impeachment motion, which will be debated in parliament on Thursday before a vote on Friday or Saturday.

The attempt to remove Yoon foreshadows further political turmoil in the country of 52 million, Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a key ally of the United States.

Resignations from presidential office

Senior presidential aides, including Yoon’s chief of staff, submitted their resignations on Wednesday, the presidential office said. The statement did not say whether Yoon would accept the offers. The president has not spoken publicly since his televised message on Tuesday night.

In a brief televised address the night before, Yoon unexpectedly declared martial law, citing the need to protect South Korean democracy from ‘anti-state forces’ linked to North Korea.

Kim Min-ki, secretary general of the National Assembly, the country’s legislature, held a press conference on Wednesday to give a detailed account of the previous night’s state of emergency. He began his remarks by condemning what he described as the ‘unconstitutional and unlawful’ seizure of the legislative body on Yoon’s orders.

Kim said that at 10.50pm on Tuesday, shortly after Yoon declared martial law, police tried to prevent lawmakers from entering the National Assembly grounds. Kim said that the Ministry of National Defence then brought about 230 soldiers by helicopter to the National Assembly building. They were followed by about 50 more soldiers who scaled the perimeter walls and entered the area.

Video from the scene showed members of the public scuffling with police and soldiers at the entrance to the National Assembly, but no injuries were reported. On Wednesday, the Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper published footage from the scene showing soldiers armed with machine guns, gas masks and night vision goggles.

In Seoul’s Jongno district, a major business center, vehicular and pedestrian traffic was as busy as ever as citizens went about their daily routines a day after the shocking footage of soldiers entering the National Assembly. A rally was held in the vast Gwanghwamun Square, attended by hundreds of people carrying banners calling on Yoon to resign.

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions declares general strike

Yoon has been plagued by scandal in recent months, with his wife accused of influence peddling and himself facing political backlash after using his presidential veto to halt an investigation into his wife’s case.

The declaration of martial law immediately sparked strong opposition, including from within Yoon’s own party. Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People’s Power Party, immediately issued a statement saying he would oppose Yoon’s declaration, while opposition lawmakers gathered late at night in Seoul’s parliament to vote on martial law. Outside the building, an enthusiastic protest took place, with people chanting slogans calling for Yoon’s dismissal and arrest.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a major umbrella group, announced an indefinite strike and a morning rally in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square until Yoon was removed from office.

The KCTU issued a statement calling the declaration of martial law ‘absurd and anti-democratic’.

The statement read The Yoon Suk Yeol government has declared the end of its rule. After this martial law, the KCTU and all the people of this country will declare the end of Yoon Suk Yeol.

Samsung Electronics shares fall

Yoon’s proposal to impose martial law, the country’s first since the restoration of democracy in the 1980s, came after months of tension with the opposition over his loss of a parliamentary majority.

After a night of turmoil, South Korea’s financial authorities pledged to support markets with ‘unlimited’ liquidity. The Bank of Korea said, after an emergency meeting on Wednesday that it would ‘keep all options open until markets stabilize’.

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 in Samsung Electronics, the country’s largest company, fell 1.1 per cent.

Is impeachment possible?

For Yoon to be removed, two-thirds of the 300-member National Assembly must vote in favor. 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.

If impeached, Yoon would be immediately suspended as president pending a final ruling by South Korea’s Constitutional Court.

A new election must be held within 60 days of the president’s impeachment or resignation. The prime minister will take over as acting president.

Choi Jin-bong, a professor of journalism and broadcasting at Sungkonghoe University, said “there could be more demonstrations if lawmakers do not vote for impeachment. Public protests are likely to increase, forcing them to vote for impeachment again.”

‘We are watching closely’

Yoon’s decision to abandon his attempt to impose martial law was welcomed by the United States, South Korea’s most important ally.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. was ‘closely monitoring developments over the past 24 hours’.

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

Earlier, Yoon’s own conservative People’s Power Party called on the president to sack Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who it said recommended the martial law declaration. Party leaders are discussing whether Yoon should leave the party, according to the state-run Yonhap news agency.

Noor Jallal Jalali, the Taliban’s minister of public health, has traveled to China at a time when the Taliban had just announced medical education for women to be banned across Afghanistan.

Jalali would take part in a bilateral health meeting in China aimed at bolstering up cooperation between the two countries.

Taliban spokesman for the health ministry, Sharafat Zaman Amarkhil called the purpose of the visit to “strengthen bilateral cooperation in the areas of health sectors.”

This comes when the Taliban supreme leader in a fresh decree had banned medical education in Afghanistan, closing the last remaining institutions where women can learn.

Following the announcement, the Afghan female students in medical schools across Afghanistan protest the decision, saying they will stand against this decision.

In one heart-wrenching video circulating in social media, female students in Afghanistan’s Kapisa province weep as a Taliban official announces that they are no longer allowed to continue their studies and orders them to go back home.

The door of education closed to the Afghan women and girls

Despite the closure of universities and schools for girls, they continued to study in private health institutes and were trained in fields such as midwifery, pharmacy, laboratory, x-ray, physiotherapy, nursing and dental prosthetics.

One of the heads of a private medical institution said that they received notice from the ministry of public health to freeze education for the girls. “We were called by the Taliban health officials and read the Taliban supreme leader’s decree and told us that from today on no women and girls are allowed to enter health institutes,” he said without revealing his name.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he told Harici that the health ministry called a number of owners of private health institutions without revealing the agenda of the meeting. “During the meeting, the health officials said that from now on no female should attend medical classes.” He said that most of the students were women and young girls, but from today (Tuesday) they are banned from education.

Taliban health minister visits China to standardize Afghanistan’s healthcare system

He said that the majority of students were women, lamenting on the current situation, he said that girls and women are banned from “last hope” of education. He said that women and girls came to the medical institutes following the ban of schools above six grades, but now this is also banned.

Meanwhile, Robert Dickson, Charge d’Affaires of the UK Mission to Afghanistan, expressed deep concern about new reports that the Taliban will deny medical education to women in Afghanistan.

“This is another affront to women’s right to education and will further restrict access to healthcare for Afghan women and children,” he said.

Taliban spokesman Amarkhil said that minister Jalali is also expected to hold meetings with senior Chinese health officials during his trip.

He put the purpose of the visit to seek “standardize Afghanistan’s healthcare system” and promote comprehensive partnerships with international organizations to address the country’s pressing health needs.

The World Health Organization (WHO) in its recent report said that Taliban policies limiting women’s participation in aid organizations, especially in healthcare, have significantly impacted women’s access to medical services.