South Korea voted to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo

South Korea voted to impeach its acting president Han Duck-soo, two weeks after parliament voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol.

192 lawmakers voted for his ouster, more than the 151 votes needed to pass.

Prime Minister Han assumed the post after President Yoon was removed from office by parliament following the failure of his efforts to impose martial law on December 3.

Han was supposed to lead the country through its political turmoil, but opposition MPs say he is rejecting demands to complete Yoon’s impeachment plan.

Chaos broke out in the parliament as voting was taking place on Friday.

Members of Yoon’s ruling party and Han’s ruling People Power Party (PPP) protested after National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik announced that only 151 votes would be needed to pass the impeachment bill.

This meant that, unlike the 200 votes needed to impeach Yoon, no votes from ruling lawmakers would be needed this time for Han to be impeached in parliament.

Members of the ruling party in Parliament gathered in the middle of the voting room chanting, “It is not allowed!” and “abuse of power!” answering himself, then he asked for the Speaker to step down. Most of them boycotted voting.

Han will be suspended from his post soon after he is officially notified by parliament.

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will replace Han as acting president.

Like Yoon, Han’s impeachment will need to be confirmed by the constitutional court, which has 180 days to rule on whether the impeachment should pass.

“I respect the decision of the National Assembly,” Han said on Friday, adding that “he will wait for the decision of the Constitutional Court.”

He also said that he will stop his work so as not to “add to the chaos”.

The opposition groups first proposed that Han be impeached on Thursday after he blocked the appointment of three judges chosen by parliament to preside over Yoon’s case.

The Constitutional Court of Korea is usually composed of a nine-member bench. At least six judges must agree to indict Yoon for the verdict to be upheld.

There are currently only six judges on the bench, meaning that one rejection would save Yoon from removal.

The opposition had hoped that the other three nominees would help improve the chances of Yoon being impeached.

On December 3, Yoon shocked the country as he announced the imposition of martial law, citing the need to protect the country from “anti-national” forces.

Hours later he revoked the order after 190 MPs voted it down, many of them climbing fences and breaking barriers to enter the voting booth.

Yoon later apologized but said he wanted to protect the country’s democracy.

Since then, Yoon and his allies have been caught up in the political and legal consequences of the temporary martial law.

Senior officials of Yoon’s government have been arrested and charged with treason, while Yoon himself faces impeachment charges. However, the suspended president, who has been prevented from leaving the country, has been ignoring the summons from the investigating authorities.

On Friday, the Korean won fell to its lowest level against the dollar since the global financial crisis 16 years ago – with both sides blaming each other for the mess.

Han’s removal will likely intensify the political instability and uncertainty the country is currently facing.