Although South Korea only became a democracy in the late 1980s, military intervention in civil affairs remains a sensitive issue.

Yoon’s sudden statement last night marked the first time martial law has been imposed in the country in more than four decades.

If you are interested in the history of martial law in South Korea, then this article is for you:

Thank you for joining our ongoing live coverage of the political unrest that unfolded in South Korea following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s sudden and short-lived declaration of military law overnight.

Here is a brief summary of the dramatic events.

• President Yoon is facing mounting calls for his resignation after he declared martial law in a surprise late-night address on Tuesday, a tough measure he said was necessary to protect the country’s liberal democracy from “anti-state forces” and ” Threats from “North Korea”. Within hours, Yoon had backtracked, saying troops would return to their barracks and the order would be lifted after a Cabinet meeting.

• The main opposition party, the Democratic Party, has said it will seek to remove Yoon from office if he refuses to tender his immediate resignation. Even Yoon’s own advisers have offered to resign “en masse.”

• Yoon’s martial law order included a six-point decree banning political activities and parties, “false propaganda,” strikes and “gatherings that foment social unrest.” The order also placed all media under martial law authority and ordered all medical personnel, including striking doctors, to return to work within 48 hours.

• The move was heavily condemned and widely rejected. Despite the use of helicopters on the roof of the parliament building, 190 MPs managed to enter the building and voted unanimously to reject Yoon’s statement and call for the lifting of martial law. Hundreds protested in the streets and demanded the arrest of the president.

• A two-thirds majority in parliament is required for a successful impeachment trial against Yoon.

• The opposition parties together control 192 of the 300 seats in the National Assembly and would therefore need MPs from Yoon’s own party to join them.

• This is the first time martial law has been declared in South Korea in more than four decades, alarming allies. The United States, which has nearly 30,000 troops stationed in South Korea to protect the country from the nuclear-armed North, first expressed deep concern about the declaration, then relief that martial law was over. British Foreign Office Secretary for the Indo-Pacific Catherine West issued a statement calling for “a peaceful resolution of the situation in accordance with the law and constitution of the Republic of Korea.”

• To many watching from the outside, the sudden political chaos appears to have come out of nowhere. But in South Korea, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Min-seok had warned in recent months that Yoon was preparing to declare martial law. Korea analysts say concerns have increased after several key military positions in defense, counterintelligence and information about North Korea were filled by people who graduated from the same school as the president. Opposition figures like Kim suggested that these figures could play a crucial role in enforcing martial law in an emergency.