South korean parliament vote to impeach president park

On December 9, 2016, the National Assembly of South Korea voted to impeach President Park Geun-hye on charges of corruption and abuse of power. The vote was 234-56, with 7 abstentions.

The impeachment was sparked by a series of scandals involving President Park and her close friend, Choi Soon-sil, who was accused of using her influence to pressure large companies to donate millions of dollars to two non-profit foundations that Choi controlled. The foundations were allegedly used to fund Park's family and friends, as well as to promote Choi's own interests.

The impeachment proceedings were initiated by the opposition parties in the National Assembly, who accused Park of violating the Constitution and the law. The investigation revealed that Park had allowed Choi to manipulate government decisions and had received millions of dollars in bribes from the companies.

The impeachment vote was a major blow to Park's presidency, which had already been marred by controversy and protests. Park became the first democratically elected president of South Korea to be impeached.

The Constitutional Court of South Korea then reviewed the impeachment and on March 11, 2017, it upheld the impeachment, removing Park from office. Park was officially removed from office on March 13, 2017, and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn took over as acting president until a new president was elected.

Park was later arrested and charged with corruption and abuse of power, and she was convicted and sentenced to 24 years in prison in 2018.