President Yoon Suk-yeol needs to be removed from power for trying to impose martial law, South Korea's ruling party leader says, though members of his People Power Party have reaffirmed its formal opposition to impeaching the president.
Yoon shocked the nation - and his own conservative PPP - on Tuesday when he gave the military sweeping emergency powers in order to root out what he called "anti-state forces" and overcome obstructionist political opponents.
He rescinded the declaration about six hours later after parliament, including some members of his party, voted to oppose the decree.
The main opposition Democratic Party has submitted a motion to impeach Yoon and scheduled a vote in parliament for Saturday.
The PPP has vowed to oppose the motion, a position it reaffirmed following a lengthy meeting of its MPs on Friday night.
Acting Defence Minister Kim Seon-ho said reports that had swirled throughout Friday that there might be another attempt to impose martial law were not true.
PPP leader Han had earlier added fuel to those rumours, and suggested the party's stance on impeachment might be shifting, when he said there was "a high risk of extreme actions such as this emergency martial law being repeated" while Yoon remained in power.
He also cited "credible evidence" that Yoon had intended to arrest and detain political leaders at Gwacheon, just south of Seoul.
"I believe that President Yoon Suk-yeol's immediate suspension of office is necessary to protect the Republic of Korea and its people in light of the newly revealed facts," Han said.
He did not explicitly call for impeachment.
The presidential office denied any such order to arrest prominent politicians had been given.
Some PPP members urged Yoon to resign before the vote, saying they did not want a repeat of the 2016 impeachment of then-President Park Geun-hye, which triggered the implosion of the party and a victory by liberals in presidential and general elections.
An impeachment bill would need support from two-thirds of the 300-member assembly, so eight members of Yoon's party would have to side with the opposition for the bill to pass.
If parliament votes to impeach, the president is suspended until an impeachment trial is held by the Constitutional Court.
The prime minister serves as leader in an acting capacity.
Yoon has not been seen in public since rescinding martial law early on Wednesday and did not attend the PPP meeting on Friday.
Following media reports Yoon was on his way to parliament, opposition MPs had poured out to the main lobby of the building to block him if he came.
The assembly Speaker asked Yoon not to come to parliament even if he planned to.
Yoon's office denied any such plans.
Police are investigating the president and Kim Yong-hyun, the defence minister who allegedly encouraged him to declare martial law and who has since resigned.
Government and military prosecutors are also conducting a joint investigation into the martial law decision.
The defence ministry said three army commanders were suspended over the imposition of martial law, while military prosecutors were seeking to bar 10 officers from travelling overseas.
Details were slowly emerging about the chaos that engulfed Seoul on Tuesday night following Yoon's surprise declaration, which stirred painful memories of the country's long years of military rule following World War II.
Kwak Jong-geun, the special warfare commander, said he defied an order from then-defence minister Kim to drag MPs out of parliament.
"I knew it would be disobedience, but I did not order that mission. I told them not to go in," Kwak told an opposition MP's YouTube channel.
Ahn Gwi-ryeong, a spokesperson for the opposition Democratic Party, said she believed the people had already psychologically impeached Yoon.
Images of Ahn grappling with a soldier and grabbing hold of his gun outside parliament on Tuesday went viral on social media as a symbol of the country's defiance against martial law.
"Who could trust a president declaring martial law, almost like a child playing games, or entrust the nation to such leadership?" she told Reuters on Thursday.
Yoon's approval rating plunged to a new low of 13 per cent, according to a Gallup Korea poll released on Friday.
