Parliament strips Yoon of powers; court to make final call

The parliament of the Republic of Korea impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol on Saturday over his short-lived martial law decree, sparking jubilation among supporters of the action, but the decision requires endorsement from the country's Constitutional Court, which analysts said indicates that political uncertainty in the ROK is far from over.

The 300-member National Assembly passed the impeachment motion 204-85 in the afternoon, after which Yoon's presidential powers and duties were suspended, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo took over as acting president pending a final court decision.

Lam Peng Er, head of the Korea Centre and principal research fellow of the East Asian Institute at National University of Singapore, called the parliament's decision "just the end of the beginning" of the political crisis in the ROK. "It is going to be a very tricky, uncertain transition, so South Korea now is in uncharted territory," Lam said.