SEOUL (Kyodo) -- South Korea's parliament passed an impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday over his short-lived declaration of martial law, after enough ruling party lawmakers responded to growing public calls for his ouster and crossed the party line.

Yoon's presidential authority was subsequently suspended, immediately putting Prime Minister Han Duck Soo in charge of state affairs as acting president. Yoon will be removed from office if the impeachment is approved by the Constitutional Court. The court has 180 days to decide.

In the 300-member unicameral National Assembly, 204 voted in favor of the motion and 85 against, with three abstentions and eight invalid votes. At least two-thirds of the lawmakers needed to vote for the motion to pass.

In the secret ballot, at least 12 lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party voted for the motion, instead of toeing the party policy of voting against it, according to the result.

Yoon, who took office as president in May 2022, said after the parliamentary vote that he will do his best for the nation "until the very end."

"While I am pausing momentarily, the journey toward the future that we have walked together over the past two and a half years must never stop," he said. "I will never give up."

In a message to the public as acting president, Han said the government "will establish a firm security posture," and that the Cabinet as a whole will do its best to maintain trust with the United States and Japan, as well as with other countries.

If the court approves the impeachment, Yoon would be the second president in South Korea's history to be removed from office by such a means after former President Park Geun Hye in 2017. She was impeached for corruption and abuse of power.

Saturday's impeachment vote came a week after the first impeachment motion, also submitted by the main opposition Democratic Party and five other opposition parties, was scrapped after most ruling party lawmakers boycotted the vote.

The motions alleged Yoon failed to meet constitutional requirements when he declared martial law, which only lasted six hours from the night of Dec. 3 before being rescinded.

South Korea's Constitution allows the president to declare martial law in the event of war or a serious emergency. But opposition parties, the public and even members of Yoon's own party criticized his sudden action and the mobilization of troops to the parliament building as unconstitutional and undemocratic.

Yoon's government had been in limbo as it was unable to pass its budget plan in parliament. Yoon was also facing condemnation over a corruption scandal involving him and his wife.

In a televised address Thursday, Yoon maintained he had declared martial law to defend the constitutional order, denying accusations of inciting an insurrection through the move.

Following Yoon's address, Han Dong Hoon, leader of the People Power Party, urged his fellow party members to vote in favor of impeaching the president.

A Gallup Korea public opinion survey released Friday showed 75 percent of respondents in favor of Yoon being impeached.

(By Dahee Kim)