The front-runner to succeed impeached South Korean president Park Geun-hye yesterday called for unity as the country writes a “new history,” while hundreds gathered outside the home of the ousted leader in a show of support.
The South Korean Constitutional Court on Friday upheld a parliamentary vote to impeach Park, effectively removing her from office over a corruption scandal involving her close friend.
A presidential election is to be held within 60 days of the ruling, with local media outlets saying that May 9 is the most likely date.
Photo: Reuters
The likely winner is former Democratic Party leader Moon Jae-In who enjoys 36 percent of popular support.
“If the power of candlelight has brought us this far, we now have to work together for a complete victory,” Moon told a news conference, referring to weekly candlelit vigils that called for Park’s ouster.
“South Korea will make new history through a regime change,” she said.
Photo: AP
Park, who is South Korea’s first democratically elected president to be ousted from office, remains holed up at the presidential Blue House as workers repair and clean her private residence.
TV footage showed hundreds of flag-waving Park supporters gathered outside her home in prosperous southern Seoul, while media reports said that she is likely to leave the presidential office today.
Moon said it would be “heartless” to kick Park out of the Blue House while her home was being prepared, but warned against possible attempts to destroy or remove state documents before she left.
Park was found to have broken the law by allowing her confidante Choi Soon-sil to meddle in state affairs and breaching rules on public servants’ activities.
The court ruling removed her presidential immunity to criminal indictment.
She has already been named a criminal suspect, accused of bribery for offering policy favors to firms that benefited Choi.
For months she has refused to make herself available for questioning by prosecutors probing the scandal.
However, that might no longer be an option once she leaves the Blue House, when she could face formal arrest if she refuses a summons, with local reports saying that the prosecutors were mulling imposing a travel ban on Park.
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