section_path: Removal
section_name: Removal
paragraph_text: Removal
  
  The procedure for impeachment is set out in the Constitution. According to Article 65 Clause 1, if the President, Prime Minister, or other state council members violate the Constitution or other laws of official duty, the National Assembly can impeach them.
  
  Clause 2 states the impeachment bill must be proposed by one third and approved by a majority of members of the National Assembly for passage. In the case of the President, the motion must be proposed by a majority and approved by a supermajority of two thirds or more of the total members of the National Assembly, meaning that 200 of 300 members of the National Assembly must approve the bill. This article also states that any person against whom a motion for impeachment has been passed shall be suspended from exercising power until the impeachment has been adjudicated, and a decision on impeachment shall not extend further than removal from public office. However, impeachment shall not exempt the person impeached from civil or criminal liability for such violations.
  
  By the Constitutional Court Act, the Constitutional Court must make a final decision within 180 days after it receives any case for adjudication, including impeachment cases. If the respondent has already left office before the pronouncement of the decision, the case is dismissed.
  
  Three presidents have been impeached since the establishment of the Republic of Korea in 1948. Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 was impeached by the National Assembly, but the impeachment was overturned by the Constitutional Court. Park Geun-hye was impeached by the National Assembly in 2016, and the impeachment was confirmed by the Constitutional Court on March 10, 2017. Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the National Assembly on 14 December 2024, and the impeachment was confirmed by the Constitutional Court on April 4, 2025. Han Duck-soo became the first acting president to be impeached on 27 December 2024. Although Han held presidential powers, the National Assembly considered him a cabinet minister, allowing him to be removed by a simple majority rather than the two-thirds required of previous presidents.