President Yoon Suk Yeol's first national address after the martial law declaration on Saturday morning looks to have improved his chances of surviving an opposition-led impeachment vote later in the day.

In a televised address at 10 a.m., Yoon apologized vowing to never give such orders again.

He also said he would entrust his powers to his party to "stabilize the political situation." It came as he faces a critical juncture on his fate, with a vote on his impeachment at the National Assembly planned at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Following the address, one of Yoon’s ruling People Power Party lawmakers flip-flopped toward keeping him in office for now. This signaled the possibility of a firmer resolution among the party to oppose Yoon's impeachment.

Rep. Cho Kyoung-tae of the ruling People Power Party met reporters after Yoon's address and said he would now vote against Yoon's impeachment. He was the first ruling party lawmaker to openly support the opposition-led effort to remove Yoon from office.

Cho said he decided to go along with People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon's decision, which was for the ruling party to vote against the impeachment.

"At any rate, a road map for (Yoon's) early step-down has to be prepared as soon as possible. ... The president did say he will take full legal responsibility (for the martial law), so we should include that part," he said.

A two-thirds majority from the 300 lawmakers is required for the impeachment motion to pass, which means that Yoon will avoid impeachment if all 108 lawmakers in the ruling party vote against it.

Rep. Cho's last-minute change of heart indicates Yoon's public apology has had at least some success in terms of reducing the possibility of the president's impeachment.

Han, while unchanged on his party's resolve to oppose Yoon's impeachment, has stressed that it is "unavoidable that Yoon steps down. As such, the ruling party is expected to request Yoon to resign from his duties as the president.

Another ruling party lawmaker Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo said the president should submit to the party his plans for an exit. He hinted that he could vote for impeachment if the president refused to submit such plans.

On the other hand, Yoon's public address does not appear to have had any significant effect on the opposition.

Lee Jae-myung, the chairperson of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, said that Yoon's speech only further exacerbated the sense of anger and betrayal of Koreans.

"In one word, very disappointing. ... There are no alternatives to resolve the current situation other than the president's immediate resignation or him stepping down early due to impeachment.

Cho Kuk, the leader of the minor opposition Korea Rebuilding Party, and Yoon's decision has "no meaning whatsoever."