After the impeachment proceedings against South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, the parliament has now also approved a suspension of the interim president Han Duck-soo. The motion to initiate an impeachment proceeding against Han was accepted with 192 to 0 votes on Friday, marking the first time a caretaker president has been suspended by the parliament.
The opposition Democratic Party (DP), which holds 170 of the 300 parliamentary seats, had submitted the impeachment motion against Han yesterday, after he refused to appoint additional judges to the Constitutional Court, which will rule on the impeachment of Yoon. At least six votes are required for the Constitutional Court to accept an impeachment motion, and currently, three of the nine seats on the bench are vacant.
The South Korean parliament had approved the impeachment of President Yoon in early December, after he unexpectedly declared a state of emergency in a budget dispute with the opposition. Following massive protests and a corresponding parliamentary motion, he lifted the state of emergency a few hours later. South Korea’s new interim president is expected to be Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok.