SOUTH KOREA’S opposition-controlled National Assembly voted today to impeach acting President Han Duck Soo despite protests by governing party legislators.

The move further deepened the political crisis set off by president Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning and short-lived imposition of martial law and his ensuing impeachment.

Mr Han’s impeachment means he will be stripped of the powers and duties of the president until the Constitutional Court decides whether to dismiss or reinstate him. 

The court is already reviewing whether to uphold Mr Yoon’s earlier impeachment. 

Mr Han was supposed to lead the country out of its political chaos, but opposition MPs argued that the acting president was refusing demands to complete Mr Yoon’s impeachment process.

The single-chamber National Assembly unanimously approved Mr Han’s impeachment after MPs of the governing People Power Party boycotted the vote. They gathered around the podium where assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik was seated, shouting that the vote was “invalid” and demanding Mr Woo’s resignation. 

No violence or injuries were reported.

Mr Woo had called for a vote on Mr Han’s impeachment motion after announcing that its passage required a simple majority in the 300-member assembly, not a two-thirds majority as claimed by the PPP. 

Mr Han said: “I respect the decision of the National Assembly,” adding that he would  wait for the Constitutional Court’s decision.”

Most South Korean officials can be impeached by the National Assembly with a simple majority vote, but a president’s impeachment needs the support of two-thirds. 

There are no specific laws on the impeachment of an acting president.

Finance Minister Choi Sang Mok is set to replace Mr Han as acting president as the Korean won plunged to its lowest level against the US dollar since the global financial crisis of 16 years ago.