S Korea opposition leader says impeaching Yoon best way to restore order

South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has said the best way to restore order in the country is to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol, a day ahead of a planned parliamentary vote over Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law.

Democratic Party leader Lee called on Friday Yoon's remarks "a declaration of war" against the people.

"It proved that impeachment is the fastest and the most effective way to end the confusion," he said.

Yoon on Thursday vowed to "fight to the end," blaming the opposition party for paralysing the government and claiming a North Korean hack into the election commission made his party's crushing defeat in an April parliamentary election questionable.

He said the opposition was "dancing the sword dance of madness" by trying to drag a democratically elected president from power.

Political turmoil

Yoon's short-lived December 3 martial law declaration has generated political chaos and large protests calling for his ouster.

The decree brought hundreds of armed troops who attempted to encircle parliament and raid the election commission, though no major violence or injuries occurred.

Martial law lasted only six hours as Yoon was forced to lift it after the National Assembly unanimously voted it down.

Yoon survived the first attempt to impeach him last Saturday when most of his ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the vote. Since then, some PPP members have publicly supported a vote to impeach him.

Opposition parties, which control the single-chamber parliament, have introduced another impeachment bill and plan to hold a vote on Saturday. They need at least eight PPP members to join to pass the bill with the two-third majority required.