South Korea’s opposition parties on Wednesday submitted a motion to impeach president Yoon Suk Yeol, hours after he ended a short-lived martial law that prompted troops to encircle parliament before lawmakers voted to lift it.
Impeaching Mr Yoon would require the support of two-thirds of parliament for the motion and then the backing of at least six Constitutional Court justices.
The motion submitted on Wednesday could be put to a vote as early as Friday, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min said.
Here's what happened in the country overnight.
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What happened?
In a late night address from Seoul, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced he was imposing martial law on the country.
He claimed it was necessary to protect the country from North Korean communist forces and 'anti-state' elements within South Korea.
Yoon has been a lame duck President since the opposition won a landslide, while he has also been mired in scandal with his wife accused of corruption.
How did the opposition react?
They described the move as "essentially a coup d’état" and held an emergency vote to strike down the declaration of martial law.
Military personnel were forced out of the building over fears that parliament could be shut down.
The speaker of the opposition had to climb a fence to enter the building after being denied by police, despite showing identification.
Parliament unanimously backed the motion to strike down Yoon's declaration.
The military said that martial law would remain in place until such time as the President lifted it.
Yoon then backed down and said martial law would be lifted.
What happens now?
The opposition have submitted a motion to impeach Yoon.
For it to pass they need to attain a two-thirds majority, which means some of the President's own People Power Party will have to back it.
They were discussing his expulsion late last night.
The motion to impeach has to be debated before going to a vote, and that could happen before the end of this week.
“President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration was a clear violation of the constitution. It didn’t abide by any requirements to declare it,” the Democratic Party said in a statement.
“His martial law declaration was originally invalid and a grave violation of the constitution. It was a grave act of rebellion and provides perfect grounds for his impeachment.”
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