South Korean politicians divided on Park’s fate

SOUTH KOREAN unions staged a general strike and rally yesterday calling for the release of their jailed leaders and President Park Geun Hye to quit.

“All South Koreans want Park to leave as soon as possible… they don’t want her to stick around so long”, its leader Choo Mi-Ae said.

Choo stressed the importance of the impeachment motion to be passed through the National Assembly as late as next Friday when the regular session ends. Her term is scheduled to end in February 2018.

“I will step down from my position according to the law once a way is formed to pass on the administration in a stable manner that will also minimize political unrest and vacuum after ruling and opposition parties’ discussion”, Park said, her voice firm. About 40 ruling party MPs have expressed their willingness to vote to oust Park.

In a November 30 meeting at the National Assembly, leaders of the three main opposition parties reaffirmed their refusal to take part in bipartisan talks on curtailing Park’s term and made renewed calls for her unconditional departure.

Opposition parties rejected her offer which they described as a tactic to escape being impeached and insisted that impeachment is the only way.

According to the prosecution office, Park pressured a conglomerate into giving business favors to a public relations agency owned by Choi, while conniving at the leakage of confidential presidential documents to her longtime confidante. But just how does the impeachment process work in the R.O.K. A passage of an impeachment motion requires at least 200 votes in favour.

The Saenuri’s antimainstream factions are poised to support an impeachment bill to be submitted by the opposition at a plenary session on December 9 if they fail to reach an agreement with opposition parties by December 8. Geun-hye’s visit to the market in the south-eastern city of Daeju on Thursday came when her opponents are squabbling over whether and when to impeach her after she made a conditional resignation offer this week. Some members of Park’s conservative Saenuri party have vowed to support an impeachment attempt, arguing it would serve the party’s interests to distance itself from Park ahead of next year’s presidential election. “We have the numbers to pass it”.

The president had backtracked on earlier promises to make herself available for questioning in a judicial probe.

The party considered the timetable the most appropriate to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, maintain stability and give political parties time to prepare for the presidential election, Chung said.

“Let’s stop talking about impeachment, and schedule her resignation on April 30”, said Rep. Cho Won-jin, a key Park loyalist.

The fact that Park, 64, never married was also part of her appeal in a country where past leaders were often embroiled in major corruption scandals involving family members.

A presidential Blue House spokesperson said Park would “accept interrogation from the special investigator”. “Once the ruling and opposition parties draw up a measure to stably turn over the reins of government, I will step down from the office in line with that timetable and legal procedures”. Even the senior figures who first suggested the idea of an April resignation at a November 27 lamented that impeachment was “the only method left”.