South Korea is reeling after a whiplash eight hours during which the country’s embattled president declared martial law but was forced to lift it amid widespread condemnation, throwing the country’s political landscape into chaos and uncertainty.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shocked the nation when he declared martial law and called in troops to secure the National Assembly building where parliament sits. The announcement sent citizens streaming to the streets on a cold December night to call for Yoon to resign and martial law to be lifted.

South Korean lawmakers on Wednesday called for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol after he declared martial law only to reverse the move hours later, triggering the biggest political crisis in decades in Asia's fourth-largest economy.