South Korea’s president apologizes but doesn’t resign before impeachment vote

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday apologized to the public for the declaration of martial law this week that has set off widespread protests and thrust the country into political turmoil.

Yoon said he was apologizing for causing “inconvenience and anxiety” to the South Korean people and bowed his head before cameras. He said his declaration was born out of “desperation.”

In the brief speech, which lasted just over two minutes, he said he would not seek to avoid any legal and political consequences from his decision, and pledged that there would not be a second declaration of martial law.

It was Yoon’s first appearance since Wednesday morning, when his martial law decree was rescinded after less than six hours, and his political isolation has been growing. The National Assembly is set to vote Saturday on a motion for his impeachment, which is likely to pass if at least eight lawmakers from his party join the opposition in voting for it. Unions, opposition parties and other groups have called for massive demonstrations against Yoon on the same day.

Yoon said he would leave decisions about the remainder of his term and stabilizing the governance of the country to his party.

On Friday, Han Dong-hoon, the head of Yoon’s People Power Party, called the president unfit to lead and joined opposition lawmakers in warning that he might try to cling to power by declaring martial law a second time. Military leaders said later in the day that they would not obey another such decree from Yoon.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.