South Korean president apologizes as impeachment vote looms

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Saturday apologized to the nation for declaring martial law earlier this week, and said he made the declaration due to "desperation as president." 

In a short televised address, Yoon promised he would not attempt to impose martial law again. He said he will not seek to avoid legal and political responsibility for the decision and will let his party decide his future.

Opposition parties, which control 192 seats in the National Assembly, plan to hold a parliamentary vote on Yoon's impeachment at 5:00 p.m. local time (0800 GMT) on Saturday.

A motion to impeach the president requires a two-thirds vote in the 300-member parliament, meaning at least eight votes from the ruling party are needed to pass it.

Han Dong-hoon, leader of South Korea's ruling People Power Party (PPP), told reporters on Saturday that Yoon's early resignation would be inevitable and he is no longer in position to execute his duty. He did not comment on whether the PPP would support the impeachment motion. However, two days before, Han stated that the ruling party opposed impeachment.

Experts suggest that the shift from opposing impeachment to demanding the president step down reflects significant divisions within the ruling party, and it also indicates an increasing likelihood that the parliament will pass the impeachment motion.

While Han and some lawmakers may support impeachment, others – particularly senior members – argue against it. They advocate for a unified vote against the motion to preserve party unity and protect the PPP's leadership position.

"The question of whether to impeach Yoon Suk-yeol involves the party's overall interests. Calls for Yoon to leave the party or step down reflect the ruling party's effort to distance itself from the president, maintain a degree of separation, and minimize the damage to the party's image and political standing," Xiang Haoyu, a researcher at the Asia-Pacific Institute of the China Institute of International Studies, told CMG.

Xiang added that if the ruling party fails to reach consensus by the time of the vote, some lawmakers may vote in favor of the impeachment, which would significantly increase the chances of the motion passing.

Saturday's vote on the impeachment motion will be conducted by secret ballot, which means even if the ruling party adopts a unified opposition stance, it cannot force all members to vote against the motion. If just eight or more lawmakers from the ruling party vote in favor, the motion will pass.

"The threshold is actually not very high," Xiang said. "Overall, the likelihood of the National Assembly passing the impeachment motion against Yoon is clearly increasing."