Main opposition Democratic Party’s bid to suspend acting leader Han Duck-soo plunges country into further uncertainty.
A majority in South Korea’s parliament has voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo, as ongoing turmoil in Asia’s fourth-largest economy sent the currency plunging to levels not seen since the 2007-2009 global financial crisis.
A total of 192 lawmakers of the 300-member parliament voted to impeach Han on Friday, while governing party politicians boycotted the vote.
Prime Minister Han has been acting president since President Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached on December 14 over his short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3, and his presidential powers were suspended.
After Han’s impeachment on Friday, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is next in line to assume the acting presidency, according to South Korean law.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which controls parliament and holds 170 seats, decided to impeach Han after he did not immediately appoint three justices to fill vacancies at the constitutional court.
The DP-controlled parliament backed three nominees on Thursday, but Han said he would not formally appoint them unless there was bipartisan agreement on the appointments.
There has been disagreement between the ruling and opposition parties and some constitutional scholars over whether a simple majority or a two-thirds vote is needed to impeach the acting president.
However, parliament speaker Woo Won-shik, who is from the DP, said only a simple majority was needed to impeach Han.
Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride, reporting from Seoul, said there were “remarkable scenes” in the country’s parliament as politicians from the ruling People Power Party (PPP) protested angrily against the impeachment.
“They are calling the decision null and void, and telling Han … to ignore the decision,” McBride said.
“We have been in uncharted constitutional waters for some time here in South Korea, and no one here is really hazarding a guess of what happens next.”
Han said in a statement after the vote that he would step aside to avoid more chaos and will await a constitutional court ruling on his impeachment.
At least six judges on the constitutional court must uphold Yoon’s impeachment to remove him from office.
The court currently only has six justices following the retirement of three judges earlier this year, meaning that the bench would have to deliver a unanimous ruling to strip Yoon of the presidency.
Yoon, who has defended his martial law declaration as legal and aimed at tackling “anti-state forces”, is also under criminal investigation on suspicion of insurrection and abuse of power.
The bid to impeach Han, less than two weeks after he took up his role following Yoon’s impeachment, plunges South Korea into further political uncertainty as the country is still reeling from Yoon’s martial law decree on December 4.
While a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly is required to impeach a sitting president, there is no consensus on whether the same threshold applies to an acting leader.
The PPP has argued that two-thirds of lawmakers must approve Han’s impeachment.
DP contends that he can be suspended if 151 politicians back impeachment since the constitution provides for the removal of cabinet members by a simple majority vote.
With the DP, minor opposition parties and independents holding 192 seats, at least eight PPP lawmakers would have needed to cross the aisle to reach the two-thirds threshold.
Choi on Friday warned that impeaching Han would deal a serious blow to the country’s economic standing and urged the opposition to reconsider its bid.
“The economy and the people’s livelihoods are walking on thin ice under a national state of emergency, and it cannot cope with any greater political uncertainty that will result from another acting president assuming the acting presidency,” Choi said.
The South Korean won fell sharply against the US dollar on Friday, falling below 1,480 won for the first time since March 2009.
Follow Al Jazeera English:
