2nd LD: Impeached S.Korean president to gravely accept parliamentary decision

Impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye said that she is gravely accepting the parliamentary decision to remove her from office after her impeachment motion was passed through the National Assembly with an overwhelming support.

"I'm gravely accepting parliamentary and public voices, and wish the current turmoil comes to a stable end," Park said at a meeting with cabinet members in the presidential office after the impeachment bill obtained the two-thirds majority vote.

Park will maintain the title of president, but she will be stripped of all presidential powers while the constitutional court reviews her case. Park's legal authority was stopped at about 7 p.m. local time after formally receiving a copied result on the vote.

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn will take over, becoming acting president while the trial gets under way for as long as 180 days to determine whether to permanently force Park out.

The 300-member assembly passed the bill, proposed last Saturday by the opposition bloc, with 234 legislators voting for and 56 opposing. Seven votes were invalid, and two abstained. One lawmaker refused to take part in the voting which was broadcast live on TV.

Park apologized to people for causing the national turmoil because of her lack of virtue and carelessness at a time when the country's security and economy both are in troubles.

The first South Korean female leader vowed to calmly and composedly address the court ruling and investigation by a special prosecutor who is forecast to launch an independent probe into the case as early as next week.

At the potentially last meeting with cabinet members until the court's ruling, Park asked for them to make efforts to minimize vacuum of state affairs, including economic and security affairs, by uniting with each other as Prime Minister Hwang as the central figure. Endit