Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea's scandal-hit leader who declared martial law

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s aboriginal is hanging successful the equilibrium aft a chaotic nighttime during which helium dramatically declared martial instrumentality and past withdrew it conscionable arsenic suddenly, plunging the state into turmoil.

Yoon, who won the apical occupation by a whisker successful 2022, was already profoundly unpopular and nether increasing unit since losing parliamentary elections successful April, regarded arsenic a ballot of assurance connected his clip successful office.

He’s been plagued by idiosyncratic problems too. Last period helium apologised successful a televised code to the federation for a drawstring of controversies surrounding his woman that included allegedly accepting a luxury Dior handbag and banal manipulation.

Now he’s facing demands that helium resign and lawmakers person said they volition determination to impeach him.

Tuesday night’s short-lived effort to enforce martial instrumentality took everyone by surprise.

It sent lawmakers scrambling to the National Assembly successful Seoul to ballot against the order. Outside, constabulary had assembled arsenic thousands of protesters gathered successful fury.

The aforesaid assemblage erupted successful cheers erstwhile Yoon backtracked wrong hours and declared helium would retreat the martial instrumentality order.

That helium would play specified a high-stakes game, and past backmost disconnected truthful easily, came arsenic a astonishment to South Koreans and the remainder of the world.

Yoon was a comparative newcomer to authorities erstwhile helium won the presidency. He had risen to nationalist prominence for prosecuting the corruption lawsuit against disgraced erstwhile President Park Geun-hye successful 2016.

In 2022, the governmental novice narrowly bushed his wide hostile Lee Jae-myung by little than 1% of the ballot - the closest effect the state has seen since nonstop elections started to beryllium held successful 1987.

At a clip erstwhile South Korean nine was grappling with widening divisions implicit sex issues, Yoon appealed to young antheral voters by moving connected an anti-feminism platform.

He has championed a hawkish stance connected North Korea. The communist authorities was cited by Yoon connected Tuesday nighttime erstwhile helium announced martial law.

He said helium needed to support against North Korean forces and “eliminate anti-state elements”, adjacent though it was evident from the outset that his announcement was little astir the menace from the North and much astir his home woes.

Yoon has had immoderate occurrence successful overseas policy, notably improving ties successful the the fraught narration with Japan.

Yoon is known for gaffes, which haven’t helped his ratings. During his 2022 run helium had to locomotion backmost a remark that authoritarian president Chun Doo-hwan, who declared martial instrumentality and was liable for massacring protestors successful 1980, had been "good astatine politics".

Later that twelvemonth helium was forced to contradict insulting the US Congress successful remarks made aft gathering US President Joe Biden successful New York.

He was caught connected a blistery mic and seen connected camera seemingly calling US lawmakers a Korean connection that tin beryllium translated arsenic "idiots" oregon thing overmuch stronger. The footage rapidly went viral successful South Korea.

Yoon’s presidency has been mired successful scandal. Much of it centred astir his woman Kim Keon Hee, who was accused of corruption and power peddling - astir notably allegedly accepting a Dior container from a pastor.

In November, Yoon apologised connected behalf of his woman - but rejected calls for an probe into her activities.

But his statesmanlike popularity remained wobbly. In aboriginal November, his support ratings tumbled to 17%, a grounds debased since helium took office.

In April, the absorption Democratic Party won the parliamentary predetermination by a landslide, dealing a crushing decision for Yoon and his People Power Party.

Yoon was relegated to a lame duck president and reduced to vetoing bills passed by the opposition.

This week, the absorption slashed the fund the authorities and ruling enactment had enactment guardant - and the fund measure cannot beryllium vetoed.

Around the aforesaid time, the absorption was moving to impeach furniture members, chiefly the caput of the authorities audit agency, for failing to analyse the archetypal lady.

With governmental challenges pushing his backmost against a wall, Yoon went for the atomic enactment - a determination that few, if any, could person predicted.

President Yoon's declaration of martial instrumentality was a "legal overreach and a governmental miscalculation", according to Leif-Eric Easley, prof of planetary studies astatine Ewha Womans University successful Seoul.

"With highly debased nationalist enactment and without beardown backing wrong his ain enactment and administration, the president should person known however hard it would beryllium to instrumentality his late-night decree," Prof Easley told the BBC.

"He sounded similar a person nether siege, making a hopeless determination against mounting scandals, organization obstruction, and calls for impeachment, each of which are present apt to intensify."