President Roh Moo-hyun's parliamentary backers vowed yesterday not to compromise with opposition parties mounting an unprecedented attempt to impeach him and thrust South Korea into months of political uncertainty.

　　Foreign investors were closely watching the political developments in South Korea, which already faces a crisis over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear plan, an April parliamentary election and a still-nascent recovery in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

　　Roh - a feisty former labor lawyer known for unexpected political gestures when in a fix - scheduled a news conference for today. There was no immediate sign that he intended to give in to opposition demands to apologize for breaking election rules.

　　But the opposition evidently decided to wait to hear his comments before deciding whether to vote to unseat him for illegally campaigning for the breakaway Uri Party that backs him.

　　"We will be making the final judgment after that," Park Jin of the main opposition Grand National Party said.

　　His party and the smaller Millennium Democratic Party registered an impeachment bill on Tuesday, giving them until tomorrow to vote before the measure expires.

　　Passage of the bill requires a two-thirds majority in the 273-seat chamber. A vote for impeachment would trigger Roh's suspension from office pending a final Constitutional Court ruling on his destitution which could at least take up to six months.

　　Prime Minister Goh Kun would then serve as interim head of state.

　　The presidential Blue House said yesterday there was no change to the basic view that Roh would not apologize for breaking campaign rules. The National Election Commission ruled last week he had broken the law but did not merit criminal prosecution.

　　"But the president is going to speak about his position tomorrow," an official said, without giving further details.

　　Uri Party members dismissed any notion of a compromise, vowing to continue a sit-in they began in the domed riverside National Assembly on Tuesday.

　　"There are no discussions with the opposition parties about a compromise," said Yoo Jay-kun, an Uri Party lawmaker. "They still need to change more than 20 members' minds to get the 180 they need, and it's not going to be easy."

　　The two main opposition parties mustered 159 signatures to register the impeachment motion. The 180-vote requirement is two thirds of the number of occupied seats in the lower chamber - 270.

　　(Reuters)