South Korean President Impeached by Parliament

The South Korean Parliament finally voted on Friday, December 9, to impeach Park Geun-hye, the country's president, transferring the temporary leadership of the South Korean government to the Prime Minister. Park Geun-hye is accused of colluding with two of her former friends and aides to pressure large companies to financially support two institutions under their supervision. The emergence of these allegations has led to widespread protests in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, culminating in a vote of 234 members of the South Korean Parliament in favor of impeachment against 56 opposing votes, resulting in Ms. Park Geun-hye being removed from power. Reuters reports that the Constitutional Court of South Korea, composed of nine judges, must now make a final decision on whether to uphold or overturn Park Geun-hye's impeachment. The Constitutional Court has up to 180 days to make this decision. With the South Korean Parliament's vote to impeach the president, the duties of the president are immediately transferred to the Prime Minister. Park Geun-hye, the first female president of South Korea, has apologized to the public in front of the national television cameras, but she has maintained that she is not guilty in this case. Her five-year presidential term was set to end normally in the winter of next year, but there has been significant pressure for the South Korean president to resign in recent weeks.