South Korea’s opposition parties on Wednesday filed a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk-yul over the shocking, short-lived martial law that prompted heavily armed troops to surround Parliament before lawmakers scaled the walls to re-enter the building and voted unanimously to repeal the order.

Yoon’s removal would require the support of two-thirds of parliament, and at least six judges from the nine-member Constitutional Court would have to approve his removal from office. The proposal, put forward by the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party and five smaller opposition parties, could be put to a vote on Friday.

Yoon’s top political advisers and Defense Minister Kim Young-hyun have offered to resign as the nation struggles to understand what appeared to be an ill-conceived stunt. On Wednesday, the Democratic Party filed a separate impeachment request for Kim, who allegedly recommended that Yoon declare martial law.

In his speech announcing the surprise order Tuesday night, Yoon vowed to eliminate “anti-state” forces and continued to criticize the Democratic Party’s attempts to remove key government officials and top prosecutors. But martial law only lasted about six hours, with the National Assembly voting to repeal Yoon’s rule before his government officially lifted it around 4:30 a.m.

The Democratic Party, which has a majority in the 300-seat parliament, said on Wednesday that its lawmakers had decided to call on Yoon to resign immediately or else they would take steps to impeach him.

“President Yoon Suk-yul’s declaration of martial law was a clear violation of the Constitution. She did not comply with any requirements for declaring it,” a party statement said. “The declaration of martial law he issued was originally invalid and a serious violation of the Constitution. “It was a dangerous act of rebellion and provides an ideal basis for his impeachment.”

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South Korea’s president agrees to lift martial law hours after it was imposed

His removal requires the support of 200 of the 300 members of the National Assembly. The Democratic Party and other small opposition parties together have 192 seats. But Yoon’s declaration of martial law was rejected in a 190-0 vote that included votes from 18 lawmakers from Yoon’s ruling People Power Party, according to National Assembly officials. Pakistan People’s Party leader Han Dong-hoon and Seoul Mayor Oh Si-hoon, who is also a member, criticized Yoon’s declaration of martial law.

Cho Jinman, a professor at Deoksung Women’s University in Seoul, said it was very likely that lawmakers would support Yoon’s impeachment motion given that some from the ruling party had already voted against his decree.

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If Yoon is impeached, he will be stripped of his constitutional powers until the Constitutional Court rules. Prime Minister Han Dak-soo, who is the number two position in the South Korean government, will assume his presidential responsibilities. Hahn issued a public message urging patience and calling on Cabinet members to “fulfill their duties even after this moment.”

The Constitutional Court has only six current judges, with three of them retiring. This means that the six must agree to Yoon’s possible impeachment motion for it to succeed. Among them are those who were appointed after Yoon took office, so the Democratic Party is expected to accelerate the process of exercising its rights to recommend two of the three new judges.

Yoon’s martial law declaration, the first of its kind in more than 40 years, is similar to previous military-backed South Korean governments when authorities sometimes declared martial law and other decrees that allowed them to deploy combat troops, tanks and armored vehicles on or on the streets. Public places such as schools to prevent anti-government demonstrations. South Korea has not witnessed such scenes of military intervention since South Korea achieved democracy in the late 1980s until Tuesday night.

After Yoon’s announcement, troops carrying full combat gear, including assault rifles, attempted to push protesters away from the National Assembly while military helicopters flew overhead and landed nearby. One of the soldiers pointed his rifle at a woman who was among the demonstrators outside the building demanding the end of martial law.

It was not clear how the 190 lawmakers were able to enter the parliamentary hall to vote on rejecting Yoon’s martial law decree. Opposition Leader Lee Jae-myung and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik were seen climbing the walls. While troops and police officers prevented some from entering, they did not restrain others or use force forcefully against others.

No major violence was reported. Troops and police were later seen leaving the National Assembly headquarters after the parliamentary vote on lifting martial law. “Even with our unfortunate memories of military coups, our compatriots have certainly noticed today’s events and witnessed the maturity of our military,” Wu said.

Under South Korea’s constitution, the president can declare martial law during “time of war, war-like situations or other similar national emergency” that requires the use of military force to restrict freedom of the press, assembly and other rights to maintain order. Many observers wonder whether South Korea is currently experiencing such a situation.

The Constitution also stipulates that the President must comply when the National Assembly demands the lifting of martial law by a majority vote.

A presidential official said Yoon decided to impose martial law as a way to resolve the political impasse and did so in the middle of the night to minimize its negative effects on the economy. The official requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive nature of the case.

Some experts say Yoon clearly violated the Constitution in how he imposed martial law. While martial law allows for “special measures” to restrict individual freedoms and the power of bodies and courts, the Constitution does not allow for the functions of Parliament to be restricted. But following Yoon’s announcement on Tuesday, the South Korean military announced the suspension of parliamentary activities and deployed troops to try to prevent lawmakers from entering the National Assembly.

Park Chan-dae, leader of the Democratic Party bloc, called for Yoon to be immediately investigated for rebellion over the way he deployed troops in Parliament. While the president is mostly immune from prosecution while in office, the protection does not extend to alleged rebellion or treason.

In Washington, the White House said that the United States was “deeply concerned” about the events in Seoul. A National Security Council spokesperson said President Joe Biden’s administration was not notified in advance of the declaration of martial law and has been in contact with the South Korean government.

In Seoul, the streets seemed crowded like a normal day on Wednesday.

Tourist Stephen Rowan, from the Australian city of Brisbane, who was touring Gyeongbokgung Palace, said he was not worried at all.

“But again, I don’t understand much about the political situation in Korea,” he said. “But I heard that they are now demanding the resignation of the current president, so… it looks like there will be a lot of demonstrations. … I would have been worried if martial law had remained in place.

Yoon’s imposition of martial law was a “dangerous setback for democracy” that followed a “troubling trend of abuses” since he took office in 2022, said Natalia Slavny, a research analyst at the Stimson Center’s 38 North website that focuses on Korean affairs.

Associated Press writer Jennifer McDermott contributed to this report.