SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea's embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol avoided an opposition-led attempt to impeach him over his short-lived imposition of martial law, as most ruling party lawmakers boycotted a parliamentary vote Saturday to deny a two-thirds majority needed to suspend his presidential powers.

PRESIDENT Yoon Suk Yeol

The scrapping of the motion is expected to intensify protests calling for Yoon's ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president's impeachment.

Yoon's martial law declaration drew criticism from his own ruling conservative People Power Party, but the party is also determined to oppose Yoon's impeachment apparently because it fears losing the presidency to liberals.

After the motion fell through, members of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party rallied inside the National Assembly, chanting slogans calling for Yoon's impeachment or resignation.

The party's floor leader, Park Chan-dae, said it will soon prepare for a new impeachment motion. Opposition parties could submit a new impeachment motion after a new parliamentary session opens next Wednesday.

"We'll surely impeach Yoon Suk Yeol, who is the greatest risk to Republic of Korea," party leader Lee Jae-myung said. "We'll surely bring back this country to normal before Christmas Day or year's end."

Many experts worry Yoon won't be able to serve out his remaining 2 ½ years in office. They say some PPP lawmakers could eventually join opposition parties' efforts to impeach Yoon if public demands for it grow further.

The ruling party risks "further public outrage and national confusion if they don't find a formula fast for Yoon's departure," said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security in Washington.

PPP chair Han Dong-hun said his party will seek Yoon's "orderly" early exit but didn't say when he can resign.

On Saturday, thousands of people packed several blocks of roads leading to the National Assembly, waving banners, shouting slogans, and dancing. 

Protesters also gathered in front of PPP's headquarters near the Assembly, shouting for its lawmakers to vote to impeach Yoon. A smaller crowd of Yoon's supporters, which still seemed to be in the thousands, rallied elsewhere in Seoul, calling the impeachment attempt unconstitutional.

Impeaching Yoon required support from 200 of the National Assembly's 300 members. The Democratic Party and five other small opposition parties, which filed the motion, have 192 seats combined. 

But only three lawmakers from PPP participated in the vote. The motion was scrapped without ballot counting because the number of votes didn't reach 200.

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik called the result "very regrettable" and an embarrassing moment for the country's democracy.

If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him from office. If he is removed, an election to replace him must take place within 60 days.

Earlier Saturday, Yoon issued an apology over the martial law decree, saying he won't shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration and promising not to make another attempt to impose it. 

He said would leave it to his party to chart a course through the country's political turmoil, "including matters related to my term in office."

"The declaration of this martial law was made out of my desperation. But in the course of its implementation, it caused anxiety and inconveniences to the public. I feel very sorry over that and truly apologize to the people who must have been shocked a lot," Yoon said.