According to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, South Korean lawmakers voted on Friday to impeach incumbent President Han Duck-soo. This was the second removal of a head of state this month, following a short-lived war decree on December 3rd.

Under South Korean law, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is next in line to take over as acting president.

Han’s predecessor, President Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached just two weeks earlier after he declared six hours of martial law earlier this month for the first time since the 1979 military coup, saying it was necessary to “protect the constitutional order “. “For freedom and the eradication of shameful pro-North Korean subversive groups that are stealing our people’s freedom and happiness,” according to NBC News.

Opposition lawmakers filed the motion against Han on Thursday over the incumbent president’s unwillingness to immediately appoint three judges to the Constitutional Court, which is preparing to begin deliberations on upholding Yoon’s impeachment or reinstating him. Han’s ruling Power People Party has argued that filling vacancies on the Constitutional Court goes beyond Han’s mandate as acting president. The Constitutional Court held an initial hearing on Yoon’s case on Friday and has 180 days to reach its conclusion.

Friday’s vote required a simple majority of 151 instead of a two-thirds majority of Parliament. According to a Google-translated Yonhap update, the assembly approved Han’s impeachment motion by a vote of 192-0, while ruling party lawmakers boycotted the poll. The agency reports that Han said he would respect Friday’s decision.

Han’s own impeachment plunges South Korea into renewed political turmoil, shaking the foundations of its democratic success story and sending the Korean won down 0.40% to 1,472.22 following Friday’s news. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.02% during Friday’s session. Earlier Friday, Treasury’s Choi warned of the economic and security impact of Han’s impeachment vote on Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

“At a time of global trade wars and national emergencies, the absence of a control tower for state affairs would cause grave damage to our country’s credibility, economy, national security and continuity of governance,” Choi said, according to Yonhap.

The International Monetary Fund forecasts South Korea’s gross domestic product to grow by 2.5% in 2024 and also an inflation rate of 2.5% for this period.