South Korea to IMPEACH President Yoon who imposed martial law & had army storm parliament in shock scenes

SOUTH Korean opposition lawmakers have tabled a motion to impeach the president after his martial law U-turn.

President Yoon Suk Yeol declared military rule in a midnight address and ordered soldiers to storm the National Assembly.

Yoon set off a crisis that plunged his country into turmoil and led to ugly scenes being broadcast around the world.

Elite army special forces - who wielded machine guns loaded with live ammunition - arrived in helicopters and were covered by snipers as they sought to seize the building.

Troops pushed their way through a crowd protesting Yoon's decision outside the parliament and smashed windows and broke through doors to get past defences that had been built by civilians.

Officials built barricades at the parliament's doors and sprayed the soldiers with fire extinguishers as lawmakers desperately pushed back against the alleged power grab.

Opposition lawmakers have now tabled a motion to sack Yoon after he later backed down six hours after the declaration in a humiliating U-turn.

The vote to depose him will likely come Friday, after South Korea's parliament voted 190-0 to overrule the martial law declaration.

Lee Jae-myung - the leader of the opposition - has slammed the declaration Wednesday as "a coup against the people" and said the ruling party might try again.

He has hosted a massive rally outside the National Assembly saying the "great Korean people [had] overcome this coup".

Martial law was declared by President Yoon in a shock television address at 11pm Tuesday night local time.

He told South Koreans he needed to free the country from North Korean forces trying to "paralyse the essential functions of the state".

He said: "I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order."

Analysts have described Yoon's decision as a "last ditch attempt" by a "lame duck president" to push his agenda through.

His decision led to chaos, as Seoul residents turned up to the parliament and protested - forming a human shield against heavily armed troops as they tried to seize the parliament.

South Korea's special forces could be seen climbing windows to break into the building while officials built makeshift barricades at its entrance.

Opposition lawmakers, who have a majority in the National Assembly, called for the public to gather outside the parliament and protest the decision.

Heavily armed troops pointed their assault rifles at civilians and MPs as they battled to make their way inside the building.

Opposition MPs labelled the declaration "illegal" and "unconstitutional".

A vote against the declaration had support across the parliament - with the President's own party not voting.

Following the vote, Yoon then made another address calling off his decision but doubling down on his reason to call it.

Yoon's defence minister - who reportedly proposed the declaration - has now resigned.

All of Yoon's senior aides have also offered to resign.

Impeaching Yoon would require the support of two-thirds of parliament and the backing of at least six Constitutional Court justices.

Thousands of Koreans are now out on the streets protesting the decision across the country.

People have gathered in front of the National Assembly as the opposition hold a rally.

Owen Miller, an expert on Korea from the School of Oriental and African Studies, told Sky News the impeachment will likely be successful.

He said: "Considering the shock of the situation, considering how far the current president gambled on this. I just can't see him surviving. I just cannot see it happening.

"Lawmakers quite easily voted down the martial law declaration last night. They got that majority easily. I suspect that they will get the two-thirds majority for an impeachment."

The US has declared it is "ready for any situation" if North Korea were to try and use the crisis to their advantage.

Philip Goldberg, the ambassador in Seoul, told Yonhap the US was in contact with the leadership of its 30,000 troops in the country constantly.

He said: "As I said before, our commitment to the Republic of Korea, the ROK-US alliance, and the Korean people is unwavering and ironclad. This will of course continue, and we are always on alert for any situation or problem."

North Korea is yet to comment on the political crisis, with the state newspaper not covering it in Wednesday's edition.

The White House also said it was not notified in advance of Yoon's decision to call martial law.