In a final statement at his impeachment trial, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol defended his martial law decree that plunged the country into chaos as a bid to inform the public of the danger of the opposition-controlled parliament as he vowed Tuesday to push for political reform if reinstated. Yoon spoke at the Constitutional Court as it wrapped up arguments in his impeachment trial. The court is expected to rule by mid-March on whether to remove Yoon from office or reinstate his presidential powers. The liberal opposition-controlled National Assembly impeached Yoon, a conservative, after his short-lived Dec. 3 martial law decree caused political turmoil, rattled its financial markets and hurt its international image. He has been separately arrested and indicted on rebellion charges in connection with his decree. If convicted, he would face the death penalty or life imprisonment. Yoon has denied any wrongdoing and blamed the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which obstructed his agenda, impeached many senior officials and slashed key parts of the government’s budget bill, for the political crisis. During his marital law announcement, Yoon called the assembly “a den of criminals” and “anti-state forces.” “The reason why I declared martial law was because of desperation as I could no longer neglect a do-or-die crisis facing this country,” Yoon said. “I tried to inform the people of these anti-state acts of wickedness by the mammoth opposition party and appealed to the people to stop it with intense surveillance and criticism.” After declaring martial law, Yoon sent troops and police officers to the assembly, but enough lawmakers still managed to enter an assembly chamber to vote down Yoon´s decree unanimously, forcing his Cabinet to lift it. Yoon reiterated Tuesday that he had no intentions of disrupting assembly work and that deploying troops and police was meant to maintain order.