Parliament in S. Korea sends president home

SEOUL

South Korean lawmakers voted to impeach President Park Geun-Hye, stripping away her executive powers over a corruption scandal and opening a new period of uncertainty.

The National Assembly immediately transferred Park’s authority to the prime minister, pending a ruling by the constitutional court on whether to ratify the decision and permanently remove the president from office.

A ruling could take up to six months, during which Park would remain in the presidential Blue House — a leader in name only.

The situation leaves South Korea facing an extended stretch of political anxiety and policy paralysis at a time of slowing economic growth, rising unemployment and military tensions with North Korea.

“I am sorry for all South Koreans that I created this national chaos with my carelessness,” Park said in a televised statement after the vote.

“But we should not let our guard down for a minute, given the grave situation we face at home and abroad from our economy to the national defence.

The motion to impeach was adopted by 234 votes to 56, securing the required two-thirds majority in the 300-seat chamber and triggering celebrations among hundreds of anti-Park activists gathered outside the national assembly.

It was a startling fall from grace for a politician who had run for the Blue House as an incorruptible candidate, declaring herself beholden to nobody and “married to the nation”.

After just under four years in power, she now faces the prospect of going down in history as the first democratically-elected South Korean president to be kicked out of office.