South Korea's parliament has voted to impeach President
Park Geun-hye over a corruption scandal.
The National Assembly motion passed by 234 votes to 56,
meaning some members of Ms Park's ruling Saenuri party
voted to impeach her.
Ms Park's authority now passes to Prime Minister Hwang
Kyo-ahn.
She has been embroiled in a political scandal that led
thousands of Koreans to take to the streets in recent weeks
demanding her removal from power.
At the heart of the crisis is the relationship between Ms Park
and her close confidante, Choi Soon-sil, who stands accused
of using her connections to gain influence and financial
benefits.
Prosecutors say Ms Park had a "considerable" role in the
alleged corruption, which she has denied. However, she has
repeatedly and publicly apologised for her close ties with Ms
Choi - who has no official post.
With public anger mounting and weekly protests drawing
hundreds of thousands of people calling for her removal, Ms
Park cut an isolated and and embattled figure.
The first female president of South Korea, Ms Park was the
daughter of a former military strongman who seized power to
become president. He was later assassinated, as was her
mother and Ms Park herself has survived a knife attack.
The vote means Ms Park is now suspended from her position,
but the decision still needs final approval from the nine-judge
constitutional court, which has six months to deliberate.
If it upholds the decision, only then would Ms Park be
dismissed. She would then become the first sitting South
Korean president to be deposed in the country's democratic
era.