Impeachment of Park Geun-hye

The impeachment of Park Geun-hye, former President of South Korea, was the culmination of a political scandal involving interventions to the presidency from her aide. The impeachment vote took place on December 9, 2016, with 234 members of the 300-member National Assembly voting in favor of impeachment and the temporary suspension of Park Geun-hye's presidential powers and duties. Thus, Hwang Kyo-ahn, the then prime minister, became acting president while the Constitutional Court of Korea was deciding whether to accept or reject the impeachment. The court upheld the impeachment on March 10, 2017 in a unanimous 8–0 decision, removing Park from office. A fresh election will be held on May 9, 2017 to elect the next president.

The procedure for impeachment is set out in the South Korean Constitution.

According to Article 65 Clause 1, if the President, Prime Minister, or other state council members violate the Constitution or other laws of official duty, the National Assembly can impeach them.

Clause 2 states the impeachment bill must be proposed by one third, and approved by the majority of the total members of the National Assembly for passage. In the case of the President, the motion must be proposed by a majority and approved by two thirds or more of the total members of the National Assembly, meaning that 200 of 300 members of the parliament must approve the bill. This article also states that any person against whom a motion for impeachment has been passed shall be suspended from exercising his/her power until the impeachment has been adjudicated, and a decision on impeachment shall not extend further than removal from public office. However, impeachment shall not exempt the person impeached from civil or criminal liability for such violations.

By the Constitutional Court Act of 1988, the Constitutional Court must make a final decision within 180 days after it receives any case for adjudication, including impeachment cases. If the respondent has already left office before the pronouncement of the decision, the case is dismissed.

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