A South Korean legislative push to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law fell through on Saturday after most members of his conservative governing party boycotted the vote.
The defeat of the motion is expected to intensify public protests calling for Mr Yoon’s ousting and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment.
Mr Yoon’s martial law declaration drew criticism from his own ruling conservative party, but it is also determined to oppose Mr Yoon’s impeachment apparently because it fears losing the presidency to liberals.
People gather outside the National Assembly during the voting for the impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (Ng Han Guan/AP)
Impeaching Mr Yoon required support from two-thirds of the National Assembly, or 200 of its 300 members.
The opposition parties who brought the impeachment motion had 192 seats, but only three politicians from PPP participated in the vote.
The motion was scrapped without ballot counting because the number of votes did not reach 200.