Interesting Times: South Korean President Declares Martial Law

Update #2: Newsweek is reporting that the South Korean President has lifted martial law.

Update: "Chaos in South Korea: Civilians clash with military and choppers land on parliament as president stuns the world by declaring MARTIAL LAW, claiming lawmakers sympathetic to Kim Jong Un are subverting parliament"--Daily Mail. Main points:

• South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol's "popularity has also declined as of late amid various scandals in his inner circle, with the opposition seeking to impeach cabinet members over failure to investigate Yoon's wife on corruption and influence-peddling allegations."
• "... South Korea's military proclaimed that under martial law, parliament and other political gatherings that could cause 'social confusion' would be suspended and anyone found to violate the regulations could be arrested without a warrant."
• Although South Korean law requires martial law to lifted if a majority of the National Assembly vote to do so, the South Korean military is ignoring the law (and a majority vote in the Assembly), saying "it will maintain martial law until it is lifted by Yoon himself." 
• The military command has also banned any demonstrations and meetings of any political bodies.
• "Thousands of doctors who have been striking for months over government plans to expand the number of students at medical school have also been ordered to return to work within 48 hours."
  

Original Post:

From the New York Post: "South Korea President Yoon declares martial law in unannounced TV address." The article begins:

    South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday declared martial law in an unannounced late-night address broadcast live on YTN television, claiming he would eradicate “shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces.”

    He did not cite any specific threat from the nuclear-armed North, instead focusing on his domestic political opponents.

    The surprise move sent shockwaves through the country, which had a series of authoritarian leaders early in its history but has been considered democratic since the 1980s. The Korean unit of currency, the won, was down sharply against the US dollar.

    The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Yoon said he had no choice but to resort to such a measure in order to safeguard constitutional order, saying opposition parties have taken the parliamentary process hostage to throw the country into a crisis.

It appears to be a showdown over domestic political issues:

Yoon cited a motion by Lee’s Democratic Party [an opposition party] this week to impeach some of the country’s top prosecutors and its rejection of a government budget proposal.