Key events
Han’s impeachment means he will lose the duties and powers of the president until the Constitutional Court decides his future. The acting president could be dismissed or reinstated.
Lawmakers with the governing People Power Party boycotted the vote and shouted at sedentary National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik that the vote was “invalid” and demanded his resignation. No violence or injuries were reported.
People Power Party lawmakers protested after Woo called for a vote on Han’s impeachment motion after claiming its passage only needed a simple majority, not a two-thirds majority.
The National Assembly can impeach most South Korean officials with a simple majority vote, but two-thirds of the assembly need to agree to impeach a president.
However, there are no specific laws on the impeachment of an acting president.
The Korean won has plummeted to its lowest level against the dollar since 2008’s global financial crisis.
South Korea’s opposition-controlled National Assembly has voted to impeach the country’s acting leader, Han Duck-soo.
The assembly approved the impeachment motion in a 192-0 vote on Friday. Governing party lawmakers boycotted the vote.
Han, the No 2 official in South Korea, has been the caretaker leader after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the assembly over his short-lived imposition of martial law this month.
Han’s impeachment further deepens South Korea’s political crisis and damages its international image.
Finance minister Choi Sang-mok is set to replace Han as acting president.
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