SEOUL: South Korean lawmakers began voting Friday on an impeachment motion to strip President Park Geun-Hye of her sweeping executive powers over a corruption scandal that has paralysed her administration and triggered massive street protests.
Members of the 300-seat national assembly cast anonymous, paper ballots that will be counted manually, with a two-thirds majority required for the motion to pass.
"We have to make a historic decision while the whole nation is watching," opposition MP Kim Kwan-Young told the chamber as he introduced the motion.
"President Park forgot her calling as the president... and violated the power bestowed upon her by the people of this country," Kim said
Adopting the motion would result in the immediate suspension of Park's authority, with all powers transferred to her prime minister.
She would be allowed to retain her title pending a ruling by the Constitutional Court, which has up to six months to decide whether or not to ratify the impeachment and formally end her presidency.
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