In trying to save himself, South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol may follow a well-worn path from the Blue House to jail

It was a shocking late-night sequence of events that has rattled and tested a still relatively young democracy.

While, for many, South Korea represents a bustling modern society that today exports pop culture and technology to the world, up until 1988, it was ruled by a brutal military dictatorship.

In the decades since, the country has experienced multiple political upheavals but never has a president attempted to seize complete power through military might.

President Yoon Suk Yeol appears to have tried and failed to do exactly that.

He claimed the surprise late-night martial law declaration was necessary to thwart "anti-state forces" and to "eradicate pro-North Korean forces" so he could "protect the constitutional democratic order".

As the military took to the streets, ordinary Koreans streamed out of their homes to meet them.

Meanwhile, the opposition took to the National Assembly and voted to overturn the decision.

As members of President Yoon's own party turned on him, he seemed to recognise the hopelessness of his position and relented.

His show of strength had instead revealed his weakness.

The lame-duck president who tried to roar

Yoon took office in 2022 as a political neophyte, promising a fresh approach to governing the country.

Roughly halfway through his single five-year presidential term, he was looking increasingly politically neutered even before the wild events of Tuesday night.

The opposition parties won an overwhelming victory at April's elections, and they've used their majority in the National Assembly to stifle his agenda and effectively sideline him as a lame-duck leader.

Since last month, Yoon has been gripped by a growing influence-peddling scandal involving his wife — a charge they both denied.

But the accusations of corruption hurt his standing with the public. In recent months, his approval rating hovered between 17 and 20 per cent.

The opposition was also preparing the case for impeachment, which would force him from office if approved.

But this declaration of martial law, which looks like a desperate attempt for President Yoon to grab power, may now cement his downfall.

Impeachment requires a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly.

The opposition party doesn't have enough votes among its coalition, but it's now possible that enough members of the ruling party will have been so appalled by this declaration that they will countenance removing Yoon from office.

If he's removed from office, it's unlikely to be the end of his troubles

South Korean presidents usually don't receive the benefit of a relaxing retirement.

They often end up in jail.

When I was the East Asia correspondent based in Seoul in 2021, two former presidents were residing in jail after being found guilty of corruption.

Another two former leaders had been jailed since the 1980s, while another had taken his own life while being investigated.

President Yoon himself came to national prominence by leading the prosecution of former president Park Geun-hye.

She was convicted over a vast corruption scandal and sentenced to 20 years in jail.

She was subsequently pardoned by Yoon's predecessor, Moon Jae-In. Yoon himself then pardoned former president Lee Myun-bak in 2022.

The opposition — led by Lee Jae-myung, the man Yoon beat at the 2022 election — has already declared Tuesday night's chaos is an "opportunity" to be seized.

It seems likely that opportunity will involve an attempt to evict Yoon from the Korean Blue House, which is their version of the White House, through an Assembly vote.

Without presidential immunity, Yoon would be vulnerable to prosecution.

History would suggest investigations into alleged corruption would quickly follow.

In that case, Yoon may soon have to rely on similar acts of grace from future presidents if he too follows the now well-worn path from the Blue House to jail.