South Korean television showed Park’s motorcade leaving the Blue House and heading for her private home in southern Seoul, where hundreds of police officers, reporters and supporters were gathered in anticipation of her arrival.
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Both women have denied wrongdoing. Among the hopefuls to replace Park, several have staked out campaign positions that promise to challenge some aspects of the disgraced president’s legacy.
The court upheld a parliamentary vote to impeach Ms Park, effectively removing her from office over a corruption scandal involving her close friend.
“Though it will take time, I believe the truth will be definitely unearthed”, she added, indicating she still does not acknowledge her corruption charges ranging from bribery to abuse of authority.
South Korea’s Park Geun-hye was the country’s first female president.
South Korea now has two months to hold snap elections. The tablet and subsequent discoveries broke open a wide-ranging scandal that has led to the jailing of the head of Samsung Electronics, scrutiny of dozens of politicians and businessmen, and now, the removal of the head of state. America began deploying the first parts of a defense system known as THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) this week, meant to protect from rogue North Korean rockets. One of the contentious issues in the case before the Constitutional Court was whether Park fulfilled her duty as president on the day of the Sewol tragedy.
She waved through her car’s tinted window as it inched its way down the street, with security men in suits walking alongside. When she arrived, she waved to cheering supporters, smiling broadly, and shook hands with political allies.
Tens of thousands of anti-Park protesters took to the streets to celebrate the court’s ruling on Saturday while some 20,000 angry pro-Park flag-waving protesters rallied nearby, demanding a review of the one-off decision.
Her political life began after her mother was assassinated by a North Korean sympathizer during a failed attempt on her father’s life.
Liberal candidate, Moon Jae-in, is leading the opinion polls.
“We still have a long way to go”. North Korea, however impoverished and insular, has grabbed worldwide attention owing to its nuclear ambition and now the killing of its President’s half-brother.
Park’s loss of power is expected to shift South Korean politics to the opposition in a major way. Massive crowds said to be more than 2 million demonstrate across the nation calling for Park’s ouster. Some called for her arrest, denouncing her sleaze allegations. Business reform is likely to also be an important topic of discussion.
Unmoved, Lee has filed a petition with the Jongno Police Station urging to immediately remove Park from the residence by force.
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Two of the ousted leader’s supporters were killed on Friday after the ruling sparked violent clashes.
