President Park Geun-hye on Friday said she hoped confusion surrounding South Korea's political crisis would soon be resolved after parliament voted to impeach her, adding that she would prepare for a court review of the impeachment motion.
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South Korea parliament votes to impeach President Park
Park, who was impeached by an overwhelming vote over a corruption scandal, apologised to the people at a meeting with her ministers and asked them to work with the prime minister to avoid any vacuum in national security matters and the economy.
"I solemnly accept the voice of the parliament and the people and sincerely hope this confusion is soundly resolved," Park said at a meeting with cabinet members.
"I will be responding calmly under the procedures laid out in the constitution and the law to the impeachment review by the Constitutional Court and the investigation by the special prosecutor," she added.
Park, who faces investigation by a special prosecutor, said this week she would wait for the Constitutional Court's ruling, resisting demands that she step down immediately.
The impeachment motion was carried by a wider-than-expect 234-56 margin in a secret ballot in parliament, meaning more than 60 of Park's own conservative Saenuri Party members backed removing her. The votes of at least 200 members of the 300-seat chamber were needed for the motion to pass.
The Constitutional Court's decision on whether to uphold the impeachment could take up to 180 days.
If she is impeached, she would become the country's first elected leader to be expelled from office in disgrace.
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn will be acting president while the Constitutional Court reviews the impeachment motion, a process that can take up to 180 days.
South Korean citizens welcome their parliament's impeachment of President Park. Source: AAP
Heavy police presence on the streets of Seoul ahead of the impeachment vote. Source: SBS
