The impeachment clock is ticking. All things considered, the vote to impeach President Park Geun-hye is all but certain to proceed Friday and earn enough votes from lawmakers to pass the National Assembly.

Park herself stated Tuesday her readiness to accept the outcome of the impeachment vote. She made the statement in a meeting with ruling party leader Lee Jung-hyun and floor leader Chung Jin-suk at Cheong Wa Dae.

Park said that if the impeachment bill passed, she would do what she could do for the nation until the Constitutional Court makes a ruling on her fate. After briefing the media about the meeting with Park, Chung said ruling party members would be free to cast a Yes or No vote Friday, which indicates that Park’s impeachment is a fait accompli. 

The dramatic turn of events had been largely propelled by the about-face of moderates in the nonmainstream faction of the ruling Saenuri Party. The moderates, led by former party leader Kim Moo-sung, had argued that the parliament should not seek to impeach Park if she accepted their demand that she announce her voluntary resignation by April next year.

The massive anti-Park street protests, which drew the largest number of participants nationwide Saturday, pressured the nonmainstream members of the ruling party to do away with the condition and decide to cast the impeachment vote. For the first time since the huge candlelight vigils started six weeks ago, some of the protesters rushed to the Saenuri office near the National Assembly in Yeouido and pelted its walls with eggs.

Regarding the prospects for Friday’s vote, most opinion surveys showed that at least 28 members of the anti-Park faction will cast a “Yes” vote. Along with the 172 votes expected from opposition parties and independents, this would pave the way for her impeachment.

In addition, some reports pointed to the possibility that even 10 or so members of the Park loyalist faction would join the impeachment vote.

This requires the nation -- not least the opposition parties that control the National Assembly -- to be prepared for the parliamentary impeachment of Park, which will immediately halt her presidential duties.

There will be a lot of things to address, but the biggest one should be about the acting president who will run the government in case Park is impeached. If the National Assembly does not take any other action until Friday, the presidential power should go to Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn.

This means Hwang, who the liberal opposition have already labeled as “far right,” could head the executive branch for several months. Leftist groups often took issue with the fact Hwang was the justice minister when the Park administration pushed for the disbandment of the Unified Progressive Party two years ago.

For this and many other reasons, opposition parties would not like Hwang as the acting president.

Liberal presidential hopeful Sohn Hak-kyu previously said besides accepting Hwang as the acting president, there could be two more options: confirming Kim Byong-joon who had been nominated for prime minister more than a month ago or find a third candidate.

Given the limited time before the impeachment vote, these options are out of the question, which is why the opposition camp deserves criticism for its irresponsibility.

Some opposition members say that discussions on who should be the acting president could negatively affect the parliament’s efforts to impeach Park. They also argue that they could force Hwang to step down as acting president and prime minister and that the National Assembly nominate his replacement.

Most scholars say that would never be possible under the current Constitution. If the opposition insists on such a position and if it does not recognize Hwang as the acting president, it could force the nation into a sort of anarchy.

This reality shows how unprepared political parties are for whatever may come in the future -- be it the impeachment of Park, her voluntary resignation or other possible developments.