Protests calling for the removal of South Korean President Park Geun-hye continued Saturday as hundreds of thousands gathered in Seoul.
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“You are surrounded! Park Geun-hye, come out and surrender!” protesters chanted, their voices reverberating through the center of the capital. They are also questioning a former presidential adviser on the suspicion that he exercised undue pressure on companies to raise money for Choi’s non-profit foundations. Mr Moon was at Saturday’s protest, saying he wanted to send “a stern warning” to Ms Park and her party.
The prosecutor’s office is still waiting for a response from the presidential palace and the location of the questioning has not been decided. “We want a real government”.
In the past few weeks, South Korean prosecutors have already questioned several former officials, heads of large South Korean companies and the 60-year-old Choi Soon-sil, who, along with the president, is at the heart of the scandal.
The scandal engulfing Park for the past three weeks has focused on her close friend, Choi Soon-Sil, who is now under arrest on charges of fraud and abuse of power.
Park faces allegations of abusing power and violating the presidential records management act.
Park stands accused of allowing a close friend to access government documents without clearance and make decisions on state affairs, leading some to claim that the president is being controlled by a shadowy puppet master.
The scandal and the ensuing popular outcry has sparked a political crisis in South Korea, and the opposition has called for Ms Park’s resignation.
“As her attorney, it would be helpful to uncover the truth if I can fully prepare for the case”, Yoo told reporters.
Saturday’s rally was for the most part peaceful as protesters held candles and sang the national anthem. This would be the first such probe of a sitting president by South Korean prosecutors under constitutional government.
Prosecutors also announced Sunday a plan to quiz Park this week. The late Park is hailed by some as the mastermind behind the country’s current prosperity but criticized by others as a dictator who violated human rights and crushed dissent.
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Public anger was not appeased despite Park’s public apologies twice as over a million South Koreans took to the streets over the weekend to demand the President’s resignation. “It happened because of my neglect”, she said in one televised address. The Blue House said it would “not be able to establish a position before around November 15 due to the President’s schedule and consideration of the attorney appointment issue”. “I would like to say that this is absolutely not true”, she said. Please see our terms of service for more information.
