As the president awaits an impeachment trial, the country’s interim leader may, too, be ousted. The currency has plunged as the crisis has deepened.

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok became on Friday South Korea's second acting president in two weeks, as lawmakers voted to impeach the current acting leader, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, fuelling political uncertainty in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

SEOUL—South Korea’s legislature voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo on Friday after he declined to make judicial appointments needed to advance the impeachment of his predecessor, extending the political upheaval that began with a short-lived martial law declaration earlier this month.