The opposition-controlled National Assembly on Thursday passed a motion calling for the dismissal of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, citing alleged incompetence in his role as chief of the Cabinet.
The motion passed in a 175-116 vote with four abstentions, but President Yoon Suk Yeol is widely expected to reject it. It is the first time that a dismissal motion against the prime minister has passed through the National Assembly.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which holds a majority, submitted the motion recommending Han's dismissal on Monday, hours after the prosecution sought an arrest warrant for party leader Lee Jae-myung over corruption allegations.
The DP has claimed that Han is responsible for what it called the Yoon administration's policy failures, including the response to Japan's release of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant and the mismanagement of last month's World Scout Jamboree.
On the other hand, the ruling People Power Party has accused the DP of submitting the motion to dilute the political impact of an arrest motion against Lee.
Considering that the DP holds 168 seats and the minor Justice Party has six seats in the 298-member parliament, some DP legislators could have voted against the motion in the anonymous voting.
The DP has passed two dismissal motions since the launch of the Yoon administration -- one against Foreign Minister Park Jin and another against Interior Minister Lee Sang-min. Both were rejected by the president.
A total of nine motions to dismiss prime ministers have been submitted thus far, and three of them were actually put to a vote.
Source: Yonhap News Agency