S Korea prez avoids ouster as ruling party walks out of Parl

Opposition parties proposed the impeachment motion days after President Yoon briefly imposed martial law

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol escaped impeachment on Saturday over his brief declaration of martial law, after lawmakers from his ruling party boycotted a vote despite huge protests outside parliament.

Yoon stunned the nation and the international community on Tuesday night by suspending civilian rule and sending troops to parliament, but was forced into a U-turn after lawmakers nixed his decree.

Opposition parties proposed the impeachment motion, which needed a two-thirds majority to pass, but a near-total boycott by Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) doomed it to failure.

"The number of members who voted did not reach the required two-thirds majority," National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik said, saying that as a result, the impeachment vote was "not valid".