South Korea’s Parliament impeaches interim president Han Duck-soo
The South Korean Parliament voted on Friday with a majority to impeach interim President Han Duck-soo, accusing him of "actively participating in the insurrection" after his predecessor's failed attempt to impose martial law earlier this month, according to Reuters and AFP.
"Of the 192 members who voted, all 192 voted for impeachment," said Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly. The parliament has 300 members in total.
Interim President Han has been serving since President Yoon Suk Yeol was dismissed on December 14 for imposing martial law on December 3, with his presidential powers suspended.
Immediately after the vote, Han stated that he respected the parliament’s decision and would step down to prevent further chaos, according to Yonhap News Agency.
After Han’s dismissal, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is next in line to take over the interim presidency, as stipulated by South Korean law.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Party (DP), which controls the parliament, decided to impeach Han after he failed to promptly appoint three judges to fill vacant positions on the Constitutional Court.
The DP-controlled parliament approved the three nominations on Thursday, but Han stated that he would only make the official appointments if there was a bipartisan agreement on the matter.
There was disagreement between the governing parties and the opposition, as well as among constitutional experts, over whether a simple majority or a two-thirds vote was required to impeach the interim president.
However, the Speaker of the Parliament, Woo Won-shik, a member of the DP, said that only a simple majority was needed.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
