SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥� South Korea's embattled avoided an opposition-led attempt to impeach him over his short-lived imposition of , as most ruling party lawmakers boycotted a parliamentary vote Saturday to deny a two-thirds majority needed to suspend his presidential powers.
The scrapping of the motion is expected to intensify protests calling for and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president鈥檚 impeachment. Yoon鈥檚 martial law declaration drew criticism from his own ruling conservative People Power Party, but the party is also determined to oppose Yoon鈥檚 impeachment apparently because it fears losing the presidency to liberals.
After fell through, members of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party rallied inside the National Assembly, chanting slogans calling for Yoon's impeachment or resignation.
The party's floor leader, Park Chan-dae, said it will soon prepare for a new impeachment motion. Opposition parties could submit a new impeachment motion after a new parliamentary session opens next Wednesday.
鈥淲e'll surely impeach Yoon Suk Yeol, who is the greatest risk to Republic of Korea,鈥� party leader said. 鈥淲e'll surely bring back this country to normal before Christmas Day or year's end.鈥�
Many experts worry Yoon won鈥檛 be able to serve out his remaining 2 1/2 years in office. They say some PPP lawmakers could eventually join opposition parties鈥� efforts to impeach Yoon if public demands for it grow further.
The ruling party risks "further public outrage and national confusion if they don鈥檛 find a formula fast for Yoon鈥檚 departure,鈥� said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security in Washington.
said his party will seek Yoon鈥檚 鈥渙rderly鈥� early exit but didn鈥檛 say when he can resign.
Protests against Yoon are swelling
On Saturday, tens of thousands of people packed several blocks of roads leading to the National Assembly, waving banners, shouting slogans and dancing. Protesters also gathered in front of PPP鈥檚 headquarters near the Assembly, shouting for its lawmakers to vote to impeach Yoon. A smaller crowd of Yoon鈥檚 supporters, which still seemed to be in the thousands, rallied elsewhere in Seoul, calling the impeachment attempt unconstitutional.
Impeaching Yoon required support from 200 of the National Assembly's 300 members. The Democratic Party and five other small opposition parties, which filed the motion, have 192 seats combined. But only three lawmakers from PPP participated in the vote. The motion was scrapped without ballot counting because the number of votes didn鈥檛 reach 200.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik called the result 鈥渧ery regrettable鈥� and an embarrassing moment for the country鈥檚 democracy.
If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him from office. If he is removed, an election to replace him must take place within 60 days.
The president apologizes for turmoil
Earlier Saturday, Yoon issued an apology over the decree, saying he won鈥檛 shirk legal or political responsibility for and promising not to make another attempt to impose it. He said would leave it to his party to chart a course through the country鈥檚 political turmoil, 鈥渋ncluding matters related to my term in office.鈥�
鈥淭he declaration of this martial law was made out of my desperation. But in the course of its implementation, it caused anxiety and inconveniences to the public. I feel very sorry over that and truly apologize to the people who must have been shocked a lot,鈥� Yoon said.
Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through an opposition-controlled parliament and grappled with low approval ratings amid involving himself and his wife. In his martial law announcement on Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a 鈥渄en of criminals鈥� bogging down state affairs and vowed to eliminate 鈥渟hameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces.鈥�
was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea. has paralyzed South Korean politics and sparked alarm among key diplomatic partners like the U.S. and Japan.
鈥淵oon鈥檚 credibility overseas has been undermined by declaring martial law, so he won鈥檛 be able to exercise leadership in his foreign policies especially when his days are numbered,鈥� Kim, the analyst, said. 鈥淚ts government bureaucracy will need to continue business as usual for existing alliance and foreign policy initiatives as best it can because there is a lot of important work to do globally.鈥�
Tuesday night saw special forces troops encircling the parliament building and army helicopters hovering over it, but the military withdrew after the National Assembly unanimously voted to overturn the decree, forcing Yoon to lift it before daybreak Wednesday. Eighteen lawmakers from the ruling party voted to reject Yoon鈥檚 martial law decree along with opposition lawmakers. PPP later decided to oppose Yoon's impeachment motion.
Yoon鈥檚 speech fueled speculation that he and his party may push for a constitutional amendment to shorten his term, instead of accepting impeachment, as a way to ease public anger over the marital law and facilitate Yoon鈥檚 early exit from office.
Lee told reporters that Yoon鈥檚 speech was 鈥済reatly disappointing鈥� and that the only way forward is his immediate resignation or impeachment. His party called Yoon鈥檚 martial law 鈥渦nconstitutional, illegal rebellion or coup.鈥�
Lawmakers on Saturday first voted on a bill appointing a special prosecutor to investigate stock price manipulation allegations surrounding Yoon鈥檚 wife.
Yoon accused of ordering arrests of politicians
On Friday, Han, who criticized Yoon鈥檚 martial law declaration, said he had received intelligence that during the brief period of martial law Yoon ordered the country鈥檚 defense counterintelligence commander to arrest unspecified key politicians based on accusations of 鈥渁nti-state activities.鈥�
Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea鈥檚 spy agency, told lawmakers Friday that Yoon had ordered him to help the defense counterintelligence unit to detain key politicians including Han, Lee and Woo.
The Defense Ministry said Friday it suspended three military commanders including the head of the defense counterintelligence unit over their involvement in enforcing martial law.
Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho has told parliament that ordered the deployment of troops to the National Assembly. Opposition parties accused Kim of recommending to Yoon to enforce martial law.
Kim Yong Hyun resigned Thursday, and prosecutors imposed an overseas travel ban on him.
Kim Tong-hyung And Hyung-jin Kim, The Associated Press
