South Korean President 'Fighting Until The End' Ahead Of The Impeachment Of Volume 2 In Parliament

JAKARTA - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he would "fight until the end", as his own political party was getting closer to voting for the opposition to impeach him on military emergency orders.

In a televised address, the leader of Asia's fourth-largest economy also claimed North Korea hacked the South Korean election commission system, raising doubts over its party's crushing defeat in elections in April.

Yoon hopes his political allies will provide his support. But this seems unlikely, where the leader of the ruling People's Power Party (PPP) said it was time for Yoon to resign or be impeached by parliament.

At least seven party members are expected to support the new impeachment motion and two members have stated publicly that they will vote in support.

It takes eight PPP votes to get the two-thirds of the majority needed to impeach Yoon.

Yoon said the opposition was "attracting the sword dance of madness" by trying to drag the democratically elected president out of power.

"I will fight until the end," he said. "Whether they impeach me or investigate me, I will face everything honestly," the South Korean president said.

This statement is the first since he apologized on Saturday last week and promised to leave his fate in the hands of his party.

Yoon faces a second impeachment vote in parliament which is expected to take place on Saturday, a week after the first vote failed as most of the PPP's ruling party boycotted the process.

A vote on impeachment will take the case to the Constitutional Court, which has up to six months to decide whether to dismiss Yoon from office or return him.

As a recent sign that Yoon lost his power, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said at a party member meeting on Thursday they should join the opposition to impeach the president.

Even so, his party is still divided and Yoon continues to receive support from several PPP lawmakers.

Underlining the split, the party chose members close to the president as chairman through a majority vote on Thursday. Kweon Seong-dong said that after his election, his party's official policy would still oppose impeachment.