SEOUL: A majority of South Korea’s parliament voted on Friday (Dec 27) to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo.
Prime Minister Han has been acting president since President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached on Dec 14 over his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec 3, and his presidential powers were suspended.
After Han’s impeachment, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is next in line to assume the acting presidency, according to South Korean law.
Shortly before the vote was taken, parliamentary Speaker Woo Won-shik said a simple majority – 151 votes – would be required to impeach Han.
There had been confusion before the parliamentary session as to the number of votes needed, as the threshold for a president is 200 votes, while that for a prime minister or Cabinet minister is 151.
The opposition, which has majority control of parliament with 192 lawmakers, all voted to impeach Han.
The main opposition Democratic Party decided to impeach Han after he did not immediately appoint three justices to fill vacancies at the Constitutional Court.
Parliament backed three nominees on Thursday, but Han said he would not formally appoint them unless there was bipartisan agreement on the appointments.
Source: CNA
