A vote to impeach South Korean President Jon Suk-jeol over his declaration of a state of emergency this Sunday, which he later revoked, failed today after most lawmakers from his ruling conservative party boycotted the vote, missing the two-thirds majority required.
Only three deputies from the ruling PPP party participated in the vote with the opposition, although there are more opponents of Jon in the PPP.
Jon's impeachment required the support of two-thirds of the Assembly's deputies, or 200 out of a total of 300. The opposition parties that filed the impeachment request have 192 seats, which means they need at least eight additional votes from Jon's People's Power Party (PPP).
The impeachment motion was canceled without counting the votes because the number of votes did not reach 200.
The failed attempt to impeach the president is expected to intensify protests calling for Jon's removal and deepen political chaos in South Korea, where polls show a majority of citizens support the president's impeachment.
Jon's declaration of emergency earlier this week also drew criticism from within his ruling Conservative Party, but the party was also determined to oppose his impeachment, fearing he could lose the post of head of state to the Liberals.
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Opposition parties can submit a new request for the impeachment of the president at the new session of the parliament that opens on Wednesday.
Earlier today, President Jon announced that he was apologizing to citizens for his declaration of a state of emergency, and said that he would not run away from legal or political responsibility for it, and promised that he would not try to impose it again.
He said he was leaving it to his party to chart a course through the political turmoil, including issues related to his presidency.
"I declared the state of emergency out of desperation. But during its implementation there was a public uproar and discomfort. I am deeply sorry for that and sincerely apologize to the people who must have been very shocked," said Jon.
The turmoil that followed Jon's short-lived declaration of a state of emergency paralyzed the country and alarmed its key partners, including Japan, and South Korea's main ally the US, as South Korea's democracy, one of Asia's strongest, is in political crisis.
The declaration of a state of emergency was the first in more than 40 years in South Korea.
Today, tens of thousands of people demanded Jon's removal from the Assembly, and elsewhere small groups of his supporters condemned the attempt to impeach him as unconstitutional.
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