In the uncertain hours early Wednesday, many recalled the nation’s last martial law, which came after a coup installed a military dictator and triggered a deadly uprising.

I immediately thought of 1980, and the fear and desperation we felt,” said a 60-year-old lawmaker who lived through the massacre of protesters in Gwangju.

The opposition-controlled parliament overturned the the martial law edict, and his rivals on Wednesday took steps to impeach him.

The president’s short-lived declaration of a military emergency late Tuesday was young South Koreans’ first exposure to a state of affairs their elders remember well.

As if the resurgent political opposition were not enough of a problem, President Yoon has to face up to the hostility of leading members of his own

Martial law was first used in 1948 by South Korea's first president Syngman Rhee as he cracked down on communist uprisings, killing thousands. It was also invoked during the 1950-53 Korean War to allow South Korea to use its military to stifle anti-government protests.