South Korean National Assembly unanimously impeaches President Yoon Suk-yeol

On December 14, the South Korean National Assembly passed a resolution to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol.

The impeachment resolution was passed with 204 votes in favor of the 300 members present. The resolution stated that the reason for impeachment was "violation of the Constitution and the law when declaring a state of emergency martial law."

Soon after, a dedicated security team was established for Acting President Han Duck-soo.

President Yoon is the third head of state to be suspended from office due to impeachment in South Korea's constitutional history, following former President Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and former President Park Geun-hye in 2016.

Upon receiving the impeachment decision, President Yoon will be suspended from office and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will become acting president.

Under the Constitution, the Constitutional Court must issue a ruling within 180 days. If the court upholds the impeachment, Mr. Yoon will be removed from office and a presidential election will be held within 60 days.

In the cases of the previous two presidents, the Constitutional Court rejected the impeachment of Mr Roh, but approved Ms Park's removal after a 91-day review.