December 4, Kathmandu—South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s abrupt declaration of a curfew on Tuesday, December 3, has brought on a severe political crisis. In spite of strong protest, he was compelled to revoke the decision by 4 a.m. the next day. The sudden action has drawn criticism for causing upheaval in the nation and endangering his political destiny.

Armed forces were sent to Seoul’s National Assembly building after Yoon’s original proclamation, and MPs were held there under the guard of riot police. With slogans calling for the president’s arrest, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets.

The curfew limited press freedom and prohibited all political activity. Yoon attacked the opposition Democratic Party in an effort to defend his actions, saying it was turning the National Assembly into a “monster” and threatening democracy. Additionally, he claimed that opposition leaders were working with “North Korean communist forces,” but according to international media, he offered no hard proof for these allegations.

As a result of South Korea’s constitutional changes, the parliament now has more authority and the president’s powers have gradually diminished. The president still has the authority to issue executive orders, though. Yoon made an extraordinary and undemocratic decision by announcing a curfew, the first since the military government ended in the 1980s.

The curfew was denounced by the Democratic Party as a “attempted coup.” The decision was criticised even by Yoon’s own People’s Power Party leader. “It feels like Yoon was drunk and suddenly announced this,” one demonstrator said, making fun of the president, according to The Economist.

As a result of the National Assembly’s unanimous rejection of Yoon’s curfew order by the morning of December 4, some military men left the area. In a televised speech hours later, Yoon told the country that he would accept the Assembly’s decision but planned to call a cabinet meeting to formally lift the curfew.

In the 2022 presidential election, Yoon Suk Yeol, a right-wing former prosecutor with no political background, narrowly defeated the Democratic Party’s nominee. His reign has been controversial, as he has frayed relationships with both his early admirers and opposition leaders. Since taking office, his approval rating has fallen from 53% to less than 20%. The Democratic Party regained control of the legislature earlier this year after winning legislative elections in part due to this drop in popularity.

The parliament decided just last week to reduce Yoon’s suggested budget for the following year. International media outlets are reporting on the president’s continued protests and rumours of impeachment. In addition to shocking the public, his abrupt curfew declaration also took many members of his administration off surprise. The Economist was informed by a source in the president’s office that “the commander-in-chief made this decision on his own. The majority of the government and staff were completely unprepared for it.

The U.S. government, which has its biggest military base in Asia in South Korea, also said it was unaware of Yoon’s conduct beforehand.

According to analysts, Yoon made a daring action in an attempt to surprise his opponents, but it backfired and went against South Korea’s democratic governance standards. His acts bear resemblance to the authoritarian strategies used by Park Chung-hee, the previous military ruler, throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

Centre for Strategic and International Studies’ Victor Cha said, “He has dropped a political nuclear bomb.” But rather than saving his government, this action appears to have hastened Yoon’s political demise. When millions of South Koreans awoke from a nice night’s sleep, they found their nation in a serious political dilemma.