South Korea Parliament has voted to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo, about two weeks after parliament voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his Short-lived December 3rd declaration of martial law.
A total of 192 lawmakers voted for his impeachment on friday, representing more than the 151 votes needed for it to succeed, despite several ruling Peoples Power Party (PPP) lawmakers boycotting the process and describing it as an “abuse of power”.
Han will be suspended from his acting presidential duties as soon as he is officially notified by parliament while Finance minister Choi Sang-mok is set to replace him as acting president.
Han, while speaking after the vote on Friday expressed his respect for the decision of the lawmakers adding that he would also await the constitutional Court’s final ruling.
“I respect the decision of the National Assembly, i will wait for the Constitutional Court’s decision and suspend my duties to not add to the chaos”…. Ag. President Han Duck Soo.
Han’s impeachment will need to be confirmed by the constitutional court, which has 180 days to rule on whether the impeachment should be upheld.
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.
The ongoing political turmoil in Asia’s fourth-largest economy has further deepened the country’s political crisis and has sent the nation’s currency value plunging to levels not seen since the 2007-2009 global financial crisis.
SOURCE: BBC, Reuters
