South Korea's parliament impeached acting President Han Duck-soo on Friday (December 27) following his decision not to appoint three justices to the Constitutional Court bench, which is currently reviewing President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment case, Reuters reports.
The impeachment of Prime Minister Han, who has been acting president since Yoon was himself impeached on Dec. 14 for declaring martial law on Dec. 3, has thrown South Korea's once-vibrant democratic success story into uncharted territory.
The motion led by opposition parties passed with 192 of the 300 votes amid rowdy scenes by ruling People Power Party members who surrounded the speaker's podium while chanting that the vote was invalid and that parliament had committed "tyranny."
Until just before voting began, it was unclear how many votes were needed to impeach Han as acting leader. The threshold for a prime minister is a simple majority, while a two-thirds majority is needed for a president. Speaker Woo Won-shik declared a simple majority would constitute parliamentary approval.
