South Korea's Roh Moo-hyun confirmed today his powers as president had been suspended after parliament voted to impeach him.
The impeachment action against Mr Roh comes amid charges of incompetence and that he endorsed a pro-government party ahead of the country's general election next month.
The vote came after hours of scuffles and protests in Seoul that included one Roh supporter setting himself on fire and another man trying to drive his car up the parliament steps and into the building.
After the decision, South Korea's main stock index tumbled 5 per cent, and the nation's military and police forces were put on heightened alert.
The pro-Roh Uri Party, which had tried to physically block the vote by commandeering the National Assembly podium from which votes are called, announced that its 47 lawmakers would resign en masse to protest.
The vote marked a setback for the Mr Roh, a 57-year-old, self-made human rights lawyer who came to office last February on a populist ticket that promised South Koreans better relations with communist North Korea and a more equal footing with the country's biggest ally, the United States.
His 13-month tenure was dogged by corruption scandals. But Friday's vote was the first time South Korea's parliament has impeached a president. The matter now goes to the Constitutional Court, which has 180 days to approve or reject Mr Roh's removal.
In a statement issued by Mr Roh's presidential office, the administration said it would subject itself to "the judgment of history and the people" and hoped that the Constitutional Court "will make a quick decision to minimise confusion in state affairs."
Chief Justice Yoon Young-chul could not say when hearings would begin. But he called the impeachment "a matter of grave consequence" and pledged to handle it "in a speedy and precise manner".
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The opposition Grand National and Millennium Democratic parties cited three main reasons for the impeachment: Mr Roh's violation of election laws, corruption scandals surrounding former aides and his alleged mismanagement of the world's 12th-largest economy.