President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a televised address, Dec. 12. Yonhap

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday defended his botched martial law declaration as an act of governance and denied insurrection charges facing him, while vowing to fight until the last moment against whether it is impeachment or a martial law probe.

In a televised public address, Yoon said sending troops to the National Assembly during martial law can't amount to insurrection, while defying calls to step down.

Yoon said he used his presidential power to declare martial law "to protect the nation and normalize state affairs" against the opposition that paralyzed the government, calling it a "highly calibrated political judgment."

"Whether I am impeached or investigated, I will fairly confront it," he said.

Yoon accused the opposition of obstructing the government with impeachment efforts and cuts in necessary budgets planned for next year, saying it is "performing a frenzied sword dance."

Following the martial law decree, the National Assembly has passed next year's budget of 673.3 trillion won ($471.5 billion) as cut by the main opposition party and impeachment motions against the chief state auditor and prosecutors despite opposition from the ruling People Power Party (PPP).

"The National Assembly, dominated by the large opposition party, has become a monster that destroys the Constitutional order of free democracy," Yoon asserted.

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea controls 171 seats in the 300-member parliament.

Yoon revealed that he ordered the former defense chief Kim Yong-hyun to check the voting system of the National Election Commission, raising questions over its credibility following alleged cyber attacks by North Korean hackers.

"I will fight till the last month together with you," Yoon said, once again apologizing for causing inconvenience with the brief imposition of martial law.

At the center of the allegations is whether Yoon committed insurrection by deploying armed troops to the National Assembly to block a vote that aimed to repeal the martial law decree.

Yoon claimed he ordered "only a small number" of unarmed troops to parliament to "maintain order," and that they were immediately withdrawn after the National Assembly passed a resolution to end it.

People watch President Yoon Suk Yeol speak on the television at Seoul Station, Dec. 12. Yonhap

Nearly 200 armed trooped were deployed to the National Assembly last Tuesday, while some 300 others were sent to three facilities related to the election watchdog during the decree, which was effective for about six hours.

Under the law, insurrection is defined as any attempt to "overthrow government organs established by the Constitution or to render their functions impossible through the use of force."

Yoon's public appearance, the first in five days, came as the opposition bloc is pushing to hold another vote Saturday to impeach him over the short-lived martial law declaration.

Ahead of his public address, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon reversed his earlier stance for an "orderly exit" of Yoon and expressed support for his impeachment, calling on his party's lawmakers to vote based on their own "conviction."

At least six PPP lawmakers have expressed their support for the impeachment, with eight votes needed from the party to reach the two-thirds majority required.

If the impeachment vote succeeds, Yoon would be suspended from office, and the Constitutional Court would deliberate on the case, a process that could take up to six months. (Yonhap)