South Korea’s parliament voted for the impeachment of Han Duck-soo as acting President, after the removal of former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Han Duck-soo is serving in the role since President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached on December 14 following his brief imposition of martial law on December 3. As constitution court suspended Yoon Suk Yeol for implementing martial law, Han stepped forward as acting president.
According to South Korean law, following Han’s impeachment, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is set to take over as acting president.
The impeachment motion was supported by 192 lawmakers in the 300-member National Assembly. The opposition Democratic Party (DP), which holds a majority in parliament, initiated the move after Han delayed appointing three justices to vacant seats on the Constitutional Court.
Although the parliament approved three nominees on Thursday, Han refused to formalize the appointments without bipartisan consensus.
Debate has arisen over whether a simple majority or a two-thirds vote is required to impeach an acting president. Despite this, Speaker Woo Won-shik of the DP ruled that only a simple majority was sufficient for Han’s impeachment.
