South Korea鈥檚 main opposition party said on Sunday it will try again to impeach president Yoon Suk Yeol after his declaration of martial law.
Meanwhile police arrested the defence minister in charge of the martial law operation, and the interior minister resigned. Both they and Yoon are being investigated for alleged insurrection.
Yoon averted impeachment late Saturday as huge crowds braved freezing temperatures in another night of protests outside parliament to demand the president鈥檚 ouster.
Opposition parties proposed the impeachment motion, which needed 200 votes in the 300-member parliament to pass, but a near-total boycott by Yoon鈥檚 People Power Party doomed it to failure.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said Sunday that they will try again on December 14.
鈥榊oon, the principal culprit behind the insurrection and military coup that destroyed South Korea鈥檚 constitutional order, must either resign immediately or be impeached without delay,鈥� Lee told reporters.
鈥極n December 14, our Democratic Party will impeach Yoon in the name of the people.鈥�
In exchange for blocking his removal from office, Yoon鈥檚 People Power Party said that it had 鈥榚ffectively obtained Yoon鈥檚 promise to step down鈥�.
鈥楨ven before the president steps down, he will not interfere in state affairs, including foreign affairs,鈥� PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said Sunday after a meeting with prime minister Han Duck-soo.
This will 鈥榤inimise the confusion to South Korea and its people, stably resolve the political situation and recover liberal democracy鈥�, Han told reporters.
But Lee and the National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik, both from the opposition Democratic Party, on Sunday called the arrangement illegal.
鈥楩or the prime minister and the ruling party to jointly exercise presidential authority, which no one has granted them, without participating in constitutional processes to address unconstitutional martial law, is a clear violation of the Constitution,鈥� Woo said.
鈥楾he power of the president is not the personal property of president Yoon Suk Yeol,鈥� said Lee. 鈥業sn鈥檛 this another coup that destroys the constitutional order?鈥�
Kim Hae-won, a constitutional law professor at Pusan National University Law School, called it an 鈥榰nconstitutional soft coup.鈥�
鈥業n reality, a political party is merely a private political entity, and handing over the president鈥檚 functions to an entity that is neither a constitutional institution nor a state body seems like an action that disrupts the state鈥檚 rights,鈥� Kim said.
On Saturday before the vote, Yoon, 63, reappeared for the first time in three days and apologised for the 鈥榓nxiety and inconvenience鈥� caused by his declaration of martial law.
But he stopped short of stepping down, saying he would leave it to his party to decide his fate.
Massive crowds 鈥� police said there were 1,50,000 people, organisers one million 鈥� gathered outside parliament to pressure lawmakers to oust the president.
Many wore elaborate outfits, carrying home-made flags and waving colourful glow sticks and LED candles as K-pop tunes blasted from speakers.
鈥楨ven though we didn鈥檛 get the outcome we wanted today, I am neither discouraged nor disappointed because we will get it eventually,鈥� said protester Jo Ah-gyeong, 30, after the impeachment vote.
鈥業鈥檒l keep coming here until we get it,鈥� she said.
Regardless of the political situation, police are investigating Yoon and others for alleged insurrection over the extraordinary events of Tuesday night.
Early Sunday police arrested Kim Yong-hyun, who quit as defence minister on Wednesday and was slapped with a travel ban, reports said.
Interior minister Lee Sang-min on Sunday tendered his resignation which was accepted, Yoon鈥檚 office said.
Declaring martial law late Tuesday, Yoon said it would safeguard South Korea 鈥榝rom the threats posed by North Korea鈥檚 communist forces and eliminate anti-state elements plundering people鈥檚 freedom and happiness鈥�.
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 鈥� many climbed walls to enter 鈥� and voted down Yoon鈥檚 move.
The episode brought back painful memories of South Korea鈥檚 autocratic past and blindsided its allies, with the US administration only finding out via television.
鈥楾his is a country we鈥檝e spent our entire lives building,鈥� Shin Jae-hyung, 66, who suffered arrest and torture in the 1970s and 80s as he battled successive military-led regimes, said.