South Korean Lawmakers Impeach Acting President Han Duck-soo

South Korea voted on Friday to impeach its acting president Han Duck-soo, two weeks after parliament voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol.

One hundred and ninety two (192) lawmakers voted for his impeachment, more than the 151 votes needed for it to succeed.

Prime minister Han took over the role after President Yoon was impeached by parliament following his failed attempt to impose martial law on 3 December.

Han was supposed to lead the country out of its political turmoil, but opposition MPs argued that he was refusing demands to complete Yoon’s impeachment process.

Han will be suspended from his duties as soon as he is officially notified by parliament.

“I respect the decision of the National Assembly,” Han said Friday, adding that he “will wait for the Constitutional Court’s decision.”

He also said that he would suspend his duties to “not add to the chaos”.

This is the first time an acting president has been impeached since South Korea became a democracy.

Finance minister Choi Sang-mok is set to replace Han as acting president.

LEADERSHIP recalls that the opposition lawmakers 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.

Korea’s Constitutional Court is typically made up of a nine-member bench. At least six judges must uphold Yoon’s impeachment for the decision to be upheld.

There are currently only six judges on the bench, meaning a single rejection would save Yoon from being removed.

The opposition had hoped the three additional nominees would help improve the odds of Yoon getting impeached.

Like Yoon, 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.

On 3 December, Yoon took the country by surprise as he declared that he was imposing martial law, citing the need to protect the country from “anti-state” forces.

Hours later, he reversed the order after 190 MPs voted it down, with many of them climbing fences and breaking barricades to get into the voting chamber.

LEADERSHIP reports that Yoon later apologised, but said he had sought to protect the country’s democracy.

Since then, Yoon and his allies have been dogged by the political and legal repercussions of the short-lived martial law order.

Top officials from Yoon’s government have been arrested and indicted on allegations of insurrection, while Yoon is facing an impeachment trial.

However, the suspended president, who is banned from leaving the country, has been defying summons from investigating authorities.