South Korea's Constitutional Court removed President Park Geun-hye from office on Friday over a graft scandal involving the country's conglomerates, sparking protests from her supporters two of whom were killed in clashes with police, APA reported citing Reuters.
Park becomes South Korea's first democratically elected leader to be forced from office, capping months of paralysis and turmoil. Her ouster comes amid rising tension with North Korea and China, and the corruption scandal has also landed the head of the Samsung conglomerate in jail.
A presidential election will be held within 60 days.
After the verdict, hundreds of Park's supporters outside the court tried to break through police barricades and two of them died, police said. One elderly man was taken to hospital with a head injury and the circumstances of the second death were being investigated.
Earlier in the day, both supporters and critics of Park gathered outside the Constitutional Court compound, where around 20,000 police officers stood in anticipation of potential violent clashes.
Many of Park's backers were elderly or middle aged, and two people received first-aid emergency procedures.
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