South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament introduced an impeachment motion Thursday against President Park Geun-hye, setting up a likely vote Friday on whether to suspend her powers over a huge political scandal. The vote passed by 234 votes to 56.
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“We demand that the Constitutional Court make a decision of conscience and justice and do not act against the will of the people”, Jung Kang-ja, one of the organisers, said in a speech.
As Park’s prime minister, Hwang Kyo-Ahn became the temporary guardian of her sweeping executive powers the moment after she was impeached.
He vowed to “run state affairs in a correct and transparent manner”.
Under the South Korean Constitution, impeachment requires a two-thirds majority of the 300-member legislature to pass.
National Assembly Speaker Chung said the parliament will not be open to the public Friday as requested by some opposition lawmakers, but said he will allow protests at the front gate.
Democratic Party of Korea leader Choo Mi-ae said in a tweet that signers of the letter would “offer to resign to take political responsibility after failing to uphold the people’s will to impeach” the president.
Hwang’s office said Friday he also called Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and raised the need to maintain close cooperation with the worldwide community in implementing sanctions against the North over its nuclear weapons and missiles program.
Prosecutors named Park a suspect in the case, saying she colluded in Choi’s efforts to strong arm donations from large companies worth tens of millions of dollars.
Second, the scope of the impeachment motion includes items that are a subject of ongoing investigation by a special prosecutor, and the Court may choose to await the conclusion of the investigation prior to weighing the evidence in support of the impeachment motion.
“Two judges retiring is like two judges voting for overturning”, said Chon Jong-ik, a law professor at Seoul National University who served as the court’s spokesman during the impeachment trial of President Roh Moo-hyun in 2004. That could be considered a constitutional violation, according to analysts.
If Park leaves office early, an election must be held within 60 days. Ahn has been a vocal critic of the chaebol’s dominance of the South Korean economy.
President Park will be stripped of all powers immediately after receiving the copied result on paper.
Suga says South Korea is Japan’s most important neighbor that shares a strategic relationship, especially when it comes to North Korea. Should a liberal government come in the aftermath of Park’s ouster, changing priorities could swing the balance in the region.
When the United Nations tightened sanctions, North Korea unleashed a torrent of threats to attack Seoul and Washington with nuclear missiles.
A group of anti-Park farmers who tried to roll into the capital on tractors and trucks scuffled with police overnight in Suwon, just south of Seoul, before they left most of the vehicles behind and headed to Seoul on buses. Protesters planned to march close to the Blue House. Corruption and cronyism are nothing new in South Korea.
There could also be significant economic implications, as some of the country’s biggest conglomerates have suffered their own follies this year.
Also in limbo are the futures of those involved in the scandal that led to Park’s unraveling.
A fresh weekly poll of from Gallup Korea showed Ms. Park’s approval rating at 5%, following two weeks at 4%.
Gallup Korea, based in Seoul, not affiliated with US -based Gallup, Inc. “However, it is still my fault since I did not properly manage my cabinet members”, she said. Hopes were high that she would boost economic growth and find a way to cow a perennially belligerent North Korea. Many Thais today will be noting that while Korea has a recent history of military dictatorships, the downfall of the president was both non-violent and without military interference.
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At the heart of the scandal is Park’s links to Choi, who has already been charged with coercion and abuse of power.
