Korea's parliament sets up presidential impeachment vote

Her prime minister takes over while the nation's Constitutional Court reviews whether to accept the lawmakers' vote and drive her permanently from office.

The vote comes after six straight weekends of large-scale protests in Seoul and other Korean cities against a corruption and influence-peddling scandal that has engulfed Park.

Protesters outside the national assembly greeted the arriving industry titans with cries of "Lock them up!" The country then has to hold a presidential election within 60 days.

Younger South Koreans have taken to calling their country "Hell Joseon", referring to an ancient feudal kingdom.

The poll frontrunners are United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and ex-lawmaker Moon Jae-in, the former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, who lost the 2012 election to Park by 3 percentage points. But she denies involvement in Choi's alleged criminal activities. The comments suggest Park is now bracing for a Constitutional Court procedure that could determine her fate, according to South Korean media reports. They are furious over what prosecutors say was collusion by Park with a longtime friend to extort money from companies and to give that confidante extraordinary sway over government decisions.

At that time, the protestors, mostly unaffiliated citizens who came with their family and friends, demanded the truth from the president. She is immune from prosecution while president but could be charged once she leaves office.

The public has been holding rallies outside President Park house for six straight weeks as they ask her to step down.

Hwang urged ruling and opposition parties to cooperate in the wake of Park's impeachment.

November 12: Hundreds of thousands of people rally in Seoul in the biggest demonstration to date calling for Park's removal.

Park also failed to fire the economy as her father had.

Park's government also sought to require schools to use only state-authored history textbooks, drawing criticism that she was trying to whitewash her father's rule.

Among the Cabinet members Park will meet is Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who will serve as acting president while Park's presidential powers are suspended until the Constitutional Court makes a ruling on whether to end her presidency. Numerous others have been questioned by investigators, and more charges are expected.

Then the rally on November 26 set a new record - 1.9 million participants across the country.

Despite the president's single-digit approval ratings and enormous political pressure on her to resign, the impeachment vote is not certain.

Park has not commented publicly on the impeachment vote.

Masses of protesters occupy major streets in the centre of Seoul demanding South Korean President Park Geun-hye's resignation. But she admitted no legal wrongdoing. However, Hwang kept the job after the opposition-controlled parliament refused to approve Kim as prime minister and went on to push for Park's impeachment.

A parliamentary official reported the motion on Thursday to a plenary session, which means an impeachment vote, must take place between 24 and 72 hours.

It was again the people who showed up in even bigger numbers to lash out at both Park for refusing to resign and the lawmakers for so far failing to remove her from office.

An estimated 2.32 million people poured onto the streets in the sixth rally on December 3, making it the largest protest in the nation's history.

The decision led to the passage of the impeachment motion on Friday, which many see as a triumph of people's power.

Kweon will work closely with opposition lawmakers who authored the impeachment motion and likely be backed by a large team of legal experts.

Ahead of the scheduled National Assembly vote on a presidential impeachment motion Friday, Park met with Saenuri Party Chairman Lee Jung-hyun and floor leader Chung Jin-suk at the Blue House.

"From now on, rallies should evolve into a platform for the public not only to vent anger, but to reveal problems and find the solutions in society", he said.