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South Korea votes to impeach president over corruption scandal | |
(35 minutes later) | |
South Korea has voted to impeach its president Park Geun-hye over a corruption scandal involving some of the country’s largest companies. | South Korea has voted to impeach its president Park Geun-hye over a corruption scandal involving some of the country’s largest companies. |
The vote means Ms Park, the country’s first female president, will also become the country’s first democratically elected leader to be impeached. | |
The vote in the National Assembly was passed by 234 votes to 56, indicating many members of the president’s ruling Saenuri party supported the motion. | The vote in the National Assembly was passed by 234 votes to 56, indicating many members of the president’s ruling Saenuri party supported the motion. |
“I declare that the bill to impeach President Park Geun-Hye has just been approved,” speaker Chung Se-Kyun announced in parliament. | |
“Whether you support or oppose it, all lawmakers and South Korean people who are watching this grave situation unfold must feel so miserable and heavy at heart.” | |
“I deeply wish that such tragedy in our constitutional history will not be repeated ever again,” he added. | |
South Korea’s constitutional court will decide whether to uphold or reject the vote – a process which could take up to six months. | |
Ms Park is suspended with immediate effect, bringing an end to her term in office which became mired in a bizarre corruption scandal that saw millions take to the streets in protest. | Ms Park is suspended with immediate effect, bringing an end to her term in office which became mired in a bizarre corruption scandal that saw millions take to the streets in protest. |
The prime minister will become the acting president until the court returns its verdict. | The prime minister will become the acting president until the court returns its verdict. |
The vote followed recent opinion polls which showed 78 per cent of Koreans supported her impeachment. | The vote followed recent opinion polls which showed 78 per cent of Koreans supported her impeachment. |
The scandal erupted after it emerged a close friend and mentor of the president, named Choi Soon-sil, allegedly used her relationship with Ms Park to extort over $70m from firms including Samsung, LG and Hyundai. | The scandal erupted after it emerged a close friend and mentor of the president, named Choi Soon-sil, allegedly used her relationship with Ms Park to extort over $70m from firms including Samsung, LG and Hyundai. |
Vast crowds took to the streets of Seoul as the scandal unfolded, demanding an end to Ms Park’s presidency. | |
Prior to the impeachment bill’s introduction, Ms Park said she was willing to resign voluntarily if parliament shortened her term. | |
The corruption scandal had paralysed the South Korean government in recent weeks. The vote to impeach Ms Park leaves a power vacuum amid chaos in the country that faces a slowdown in growth and heightened tensions with its unpredictable neighbour, North Korea. | |
Ms Park is yet to comment on the results of the vote, but she is due to attend a meeting with her cabinet and the prime minister who will assume the role of interim president. |