
A majority of South Korea’s parliament voted on Friday to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo.
Han, who has been serving as acting president since President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment on 14th of December, saw his presidential powers suspended after Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law on 3rd of December.
Following the impeachment, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is next in line to assume the acting presidency, in accordance with South Korean law.
Out of the 300 members of parliament, 192 lawmakers voted in favor of Han’s impeachment.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which holds a majority in parliament, pushed for the impeachment after Han delayed the appointment of three justices to fill vacancies in the constitutional court.
While there has been debate about whether a simple majority or a two-thirds vote is required for impeachment, Parliament Speaker Woo Won-shik, a member of the DP, confirmed that only a simple majority was needed to remove Han from office.