South Korea has voted to impeach its incumbent President Han Duck-soo, two weeks after parliament voted to impeach its President Yoon Suk Yeol.
There were heated scenes in the National Assembly after the speaker announced that only 151 out of 300 votes were needed to pass the impeachment bill, as opposed to the 200 votes needed to remove President Yoon from office.
Lawmakers from Yoon and Han’s ruling PPP party crowded around the speaker’s chair in protest and boycotted the vote.
A total of 192 MPs voted for Han’s removal from office.
Prime Minister Han assumed the role after President Yoon was impeached by parliament on December 3 following his failed attempt to impose martial law.
But opposition lawmakers accused Han of refusing to appoint judges for Yoon’s impeachment trial, effectively stalling the process.
Han has agreed to step down, meaning the country’s finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, will become acting president.
Jean Mackenzie reports from Seoul.
