South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol escaped impeachment Saturday over his brief declaration of martial law, after lawmakers from his ruling party boycotted a vote despite huge protests outside parliament.
Yoon stunned the nation and the international community Tuesday night by suspending civilian rule and sending troops to parliament, but was forced into an about-face after lawmakers nixed his decree.
Opposition parties proposed the impeachment motion, which needed a two-thirds majority to pass, but a near-total boycott by Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) doomed it to failure.
"The number of members who voted did not reach the required two-thirds majority," National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik said, saying that as a result, the impeachment vote was "not valid."
The country — and the world — was watching, he said, adding it was "very regrettable that a vote could not even be held on such a significant national issue."
He said it signified "a failure to engage in the democratic process" on the part of the ruling party.
The PPP claimed after the vote that it had blocked the impeachment to avoid "severe division and chaos," adding that it would "resolve this crisis in a more orderly and responsible manner."
The outcome disappointed the huge crowds — numbering 150,000 according to police, or 1 million according to organizers — demonstrating outside parliament for Yoon's ouster.
Demonstrators booed while some sighed or even wept in frustration as the ruling party lawmakers walked out of the chamber.
"Even though we didn't get the outcome we wanted today, I am neither discouraged nor disappointed because we will get it eventually," said Jo Ah-gyeong, 30.
"I'll keep coming here until we get it," she said.
The opposition has already vowed to try again as soon as Wednesday, and many protesters vowed to continue demonstrations next weekend.
"I will impeach Yoon Suk Yeol, who has become the worst risk for South Korea, at any cost," opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said.
Before the vote, Yoon, 63, apologized for the turmoil but said he would leave it to his party to decide his fate.
"I caused anxiety and inconvenience to the public. I sincerely apologize," he said in a televised address, his first public appearance in three days.
He said he would "entrust the party with measures to stabilize the political situation, including my term in office."
The backing of PPP lawmakers came despite party head Han Dong-hoon — who was allegedly on an arrest list on Tuesday night — saying Yoon must go.
Only three PPP lawmakers — Ahn Cheol-soo, Kim Yea-ji and Kim Sang-wook — voted in the end.
The failure of the impeachment motion "means a more protracted political crisis," said Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korean Studies at the University of Oslo.
"We will have a politically dead president — basically unable to govern any longer — and hundreds of thousands coming to the streets every week until Yoon is removed," he said.
Had the motion passed, Yoon would have been suspended from duties pending a ruling by the Constitutional Court.
An opinion poll released Friday put backing for the president at a record low of 13%.
"The public will not forgive him," 63-year-old retiree Lee Wan-pyo said at one of Seoul's main train stations before the vote.
"I just want him to step down," said Han Jeong-hwa, a 70-year-old housewife.
Regardless of the vote, police have begun investigating Yoon and others for alleged insurrection.
In his address declaring martial law late Tuesday, Yoon claimed it would "eliminate anti-state elements plundering people's freedom and happiness."
Security forces sealed the National Assembly, helicopters landed on the roof and almost 300 soldiers tried to lock down the building.
But as parliamentary staffers blocked the soldiers with sofas and fire extinguishers, enough MPs got inside — many climbed walls to enter — and voted down Yoon's move.
Soldiers had been ordered to detain key politicians, officials from both parties have said, with the special forces chief later describing being given orders to "drag out" MPs from parliament.
Experts and lawmakers have speculated that the elite special forces soldiers may have slow-walked following orders, after discovering themselves to be involved in a political, rather than national security, incident.
The episode brought back painful memories of South Korea's autocratic past and blindsided its allies, with the U.S. administration only finding out via television.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yul, on Friday that he "expects the ... democratic process to prevail."
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