South Korea’s Parliament has voted to impeach President Park Geun-hye over a corruption scandal. The motion passed by 234 votes to 56 meaning some members of Ms Park’s ruling Saenuri party voted in favour.
Hwang Kyo-ahn, the country’s Prime Minister, has become interim President. Thousands of people took to the streets in recent weeks demanding Ms. Park’s removal.
The Parliamentary vote means Ms Park – South Korea’s first female President – has been suspended. The case now goes before the Constitutional Court, which has 180 days to make a final ruling.
If at least six of the court’s nine judges approve the decision, Ms Park will become the first sitting South Korean president to be deposed in the country’s democratic era and a new presidential election will be held within 60 days.