The president's statement came just hours before the main opposition party submitted a new impeachment motion against him.

In an address to the nation, President Yoon Suk Yeol claimed the opposition-controlled parliament has been destroying the country's liberal democratic order.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday vowed to fight "until the very last minute", in a defiant address defending his shock decision to declare martial law and deploy troops to the country's parliament last week.