SEOUL, South Korea, Dec 27 — South Korea has voted to impeach its acting president Han Duck-soo, two weeks after parliament voted to impeach its President Yoon Suk Yeol.
A total of 192 lawmakers voted for his impeachment, more than the 151 votes needed for it to succeed.
Prime Minister Han took over the role after President Yoon was impeached by parliament following his failed attempt to impose martial law on 3 December.
Han was supposed to lead the country out of its political turmoil, but opposition MPs argued that he was refusing demands to complete Yoon’s impeachment process.
It was a scene of chaos in parliament as the vote was held on Friday.
Lawmakers from Yoon and Han’s ruling People Power Party (PPP) protested after National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik announced that only 151 votes would be needed to pass the impeachment bill.
This meant that, unlike the 200 votes required for Yoon’s impeachment, no votes from ruling lawmakers would be needed this time for Han to be impeached in parliament.
Contested vote
Ruling party MPs gathered in the middle of the voting chamber chanting, “invalid!” and “abuse of power!” in response, and called for the Speaker to step down. Most of them boycotted the vote.
The opposition first filed an impeachment motion against Han on Thursday after he blocked the appointment of three judges that parliament had chosen to oversee Yoon’s case.
Korea’s Constitutional Court is typically made up of a nine-member bench. At least six judges must uphold Yoon’s impeachment in order for the decision to be upheld.
There are currently only six judges on the bench, meaning a single rejection would save Yoon from being removed.
The opposition had hoped the three additional nominees would help improve the odds of Yoon getting impeached.
Finance minister Choi Sang-mok is set to replace Han as acting president.
Han’s removal will likely intensify the political gridlock and uncertainty the country is currently grappling with.
