South Korea’s parliament voted on Friday to impeach Prime Minister and Acting President Han Duck-soo, just days after stripping President Yoon Suk Yeol of his powers due to his controversial martial law order that plunged the nation into political turmoil. A total of 192 lawmakers supported Han’s impeachment, surpassing the required 151 votes in the 300-member legislature. Chaotic scenes unfolded during the vote, with lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party chanting “Abuse of power” and celebrating after National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik announced that only a simple majority was necessary to pass the impeachment motion against Han.
While a simple majority is the standard threshold to impeach a prime minister, removing a president requires a two-thirds majority.
Han, who became acting president after Yoon’s impeachment, issued a statement acknowledging the decision, saying, “I respect the outcome and will suspend my duties under the law to prevent further confusion and instability.” Following Han’s removal, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok stepped in as acting president.
The impeachment motion against Han was initiated by the opposition Democratic Party, which accused him of failing to appoint three new Constitutional Court justices, positions critical to adjudicating Yoon’s impeachment trial.
Defending his decision, Han argued that the appointments should only proceed after the ruling and opposition parties reach a consensus. “The process of appointing constitutional judges is just as important as filling the vacancies,” he said, emphasizing public dismay over recent political turmoil.
Han’s impeachment adds to weeks of political unrest following Yoon’s brief martial law declaration on December 3, which lasted only six hours but sparked widespread protests. Parliament voted to impeach Yoon two weeks ago, with support from some ruling party lawmakers, after he repeatedly refused to resign.
The Constitutional Court now has up to six months to decide whether to uphold or overturn Yoon’s impeachment. The court has pledged to prioritize the case amid other impeachment motions targeting members of Yoon’s administration, including the justice minister and senior prosecutors.
The nine-member court currently has only six sitting justices due to unfilled vacancies, raising concerns about its ability to rule on Yoon’s fate. Under South Korean law, at least six justices must approve an impeachment for it to be upheld. If only six justices participate, all must agree unanimously to remove Yoon from office.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung criticized the ruling party, accusing it of betraying the Constitution and acting as “loyal enforcers” for Yoon. “The acting president has turned into an acting insurrection leader,” he declared at a press conference on Friday.
