The majority of South Korea’s parliament voted this Friday (27) in favor of impeaching interim president Han Duck-soo.
Prime Minister Han has been acting president since President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached this month following the imposition of martial law on December 3 and the suspension of his presidential powers.
Following Han’s impeachment, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is next in line to assume the acting presidency under South Korean law.
Some 192 of 300 lawmakers voted to impeach in parliament.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which controls parliament, decided to impeach him after he failed to immediately appoint three judges to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court.
The Democratic Party-controlled parliament backed three candidates on Thursday, but Han said he would not formally nominate them unless there was a bipartisan agreement on the nominations.
There has been disagreement between the ruling and opposition parties and some constitutional scholars over whether a simple majority or a two-thirds vote is necessary to impeach the acting president.
However, Parliament Speaker Woo Won-shik, who is from the DP, said only a simple majority was needed to pass the measure.
