section_path: Background/Impeachment procedure
section_name: Impeachment procedure
paragraph_text: Impeachment procedure
  
  The procedure for impeachment is set out in the 10th Constitution of South Korea in 1987. Article 65, Clause 1, specifies that the National Assembly may impeach the president, prime minister, or other state officials if they violate the constitution or other laws while performing official duties.
  
  For an impeachment motion against a sitting president to pass, a majority of the National Assembly must propose it, and a two-thirds supermajority – 200 out of 300 members – must vote in favor. Once passed, the individual is immediately suspended from their duties pending a ruling by the Constitutional Court of Korea. The scope of impeachment is limited to removal from public office, with no further penalties imposed through this process.
  
  According to the Constitutional Court Act passed in 1988, the Constitutional Court must render a decision within 180 days after it receives any case for adjudication, including impeachment cases. If the respondent has already left office before the decision, the case is dismissed. Formal removal of the president requires six of the nine justices voting in favor. Due to one vacancy, President Yoon Suk Yeol's removal needed six out of eight judges to vote to dismiss him. Article 23 of the Constitutional Court Act requires at least seven justices for deliberation.
  
  If the National Assembly impeaches the president, the president is immediately suspended from office, with the prime minister assuming the role of acting president. In the event of the president's resignation or removal by the Constitutional Court, an early presidential election is required to be held within 60 days. During this interim period, the prime minister continues to serve as acting president until the election of a new president.