Lawmakers and members of South Korea's Democratic Party hold candles at a protest urging the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye at the National Assembly, in Seoul
Seoul: South Korea's parliament introduced a bill yesterday to impeach President Park Geun-hye, setting the stage for a historic vote to oust the embattled leader engulfed in an influence-peddling scandal.
Parliament is expected to vote today in favour of impeachment, although the Constitutional Court must decide whether to uphold the motion, a process that could take up to 180 days.
Opposition parties have said they believe they will get the two-thirds majority needed to pass the bill, with support from about 30 members of Park's conservative Saenuri Party to secure the necessary 200 votes.
Park, 64, said this week she would await the court's ruling, signalling that the country's six-weeks-long political crisis is set to continue.
Her approval rating is at a record low of 4 percent.
A Realmeter poll released on Thursday said 78.2 percent of respondents wanted Park to be impeached.
An impeachment vote must be held within 72 hours of the motion's introduction, and the speaker of parliament, Chung Sye-kyun, asked for a vote today.
