South Korean lawmakers voted on Wednesday to impeach the interior minister over his responses to a deadly Halloween crush, setting the stage for him to become the first cabinet member ousted by the legislature.
As many as 159 people were killed and 196 injured in the Oct. 29 incident, when revelers flooded narrow alleyways in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon to enjoy the first coronavirus mask-free Halloween festivities in three years.
Wednesday's motion passed by a widely expected margin of 179 to 109 in a secret ballot in the 300-member single chamber, in which the main opposition Democratic Party has a 169-seat majority.