The majority of South Korea’s parliament voted on Friday to remove interim President Han Duck-soo from office.
Prime Minister Han has been acting president since President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached on December 14 for his brief imposition of martial law on December 3, and his presidential powers were suspended.
After Han’s impeachment, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is next to assume the interim presidency, according to South Korean law.
Some 192 lawmakers voted to remove Han from the 300-member parliament.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Party (DP), which controls parliament, decided to impeach Han after he did not immediately appoint three judges to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court.
The PD-controlled parliament endorsed three candidates on Thursday, but Han said he would not formally name 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 two-thirds vote is needed to remove the interim president.
However, Parliament Speaker Woo Won-shik of the DP said only a simple majority was needed to remove Han.
