Candle-lit vigils and rallies were held across South Korea on Wednesday, a nation outraged and frustrated by the president’s surprise declaration of martial law the night before called for his resignation.

Confusion, rumor and fear spread through South Korea in the early morning hours Wednesday after the sudden declaration of martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s surprise declaration of emergency martial law lasted only six hours. But it has plunged South Korea – a key Asian economy and U.S. ally – into a political crisis that could last much longer.