Massive fallout after South Korea's short-lived martial law

The massive fallout from South Korean President YoonSuk Yeol's brief declaration of martial law continued on Wednesday, with the opposition calling for his resignation and his party urging the sacking of the defense minister.

Top advisers threatened to resign, the central bank offered liquidity to help the plunging won and allies watched on with concern. South Korea's main opposition party on Wednesday called for the immediate resignation of the country's president following his brief declaration of martial law.

The Democratic Party said during an emergency meeting of the National Assembly that, should Yoon not resign of his own accord, it would promptly initiate impeachment proceedings against him, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Declaring martial law was 'a clear violation of the constitution,' the opposition maintained.

On Tuesday, Yoon suddenly called for martial law to be instituted, accusing the country's opposition of sympathizing with North Korea and saying that the ruling aimed to 'eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional order of freedom.'

The National Assembly swiftly voted to lift the state of emergency and Yoon was obliged to lift martial law, which he did early on Wednesday. Yoon's party wants the defense minister out The leader of Yoon's own ruling People Power Party (PPP) urged the president to explain his decision and called for the sacking of Defense Minister Kim Yong-Hyun over what he calls a 'disastrous situation.'

Han Dong-hoon remarked after Yoon lifted martial law. 'As the ruling party, we feel deeply apologetic to the public for today's disastrous situation,' Han told reporters at the national assembly, as reported by Yonhap.

'President Yoon should directly explain the disastrous situation and hold those responsible strictly accountable, including the immediate dismissal of the defense minister who proposed the martial law,' he added. Kim, a former head of the Presidential Security Service and close aide to Yoon, was inaugurated as the defense minister in September.

The Defence Ministry in Seoul confirmed Kim proposed martial law to Yoon. Han said his party will work to minimize the impact on the economy and diplomacy, vowing to thoroughly investigate the situation and take necessary measures. Meanwhile, the senior advisers to Yoon told Yonhap they were ready to resign. The agency said the president's chief of staff and national security adviser are among them. In total, 10 senior advisers to Yoonwant to leave, the report said.

South Korean stocks and the country’s currency were rattled Wednesday morning after a tense night during which President Yoon Suk Yeol declared and then lifted martial law.

The benchmark Kospi index fell nearly 2% in afternoon trading in Seoul. Big banks were hit particularly hard, with an index tracking the financial sector dropping 5%, a reflection of general economic unease. Shares of some of South Korea’s biggest companies were also down, with Samsung Electronics losing 1% and Hyundai Motor shedding more than 2%.

After a steep drop overnight, the win bounced from its lows as policymakers pledged to support the currency. On Wednesday it was trading down by about 1% against the dollar since the initial declaration of martial law late Tuesday night.

South Korea’s finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, convened a meeting in Seoul with officials from the central bank and key financial regulators within an hour of martial law being declared. They pledged to meet daily and provide “unlimited liquidity support” until the stock, bond, and currency markets stabilized.

The won was already the worst-performing currency in Asia against the dollar this year, down more than 8%.