South Korea’s ex-president criticised for leaving dogs at Blue House

Ms Park was dismissed by the Constitutional Court last Friday over the scandal also involving her longtime confidante.

Prosecutors plan to question her next week over suspicions that she colluded with a friend to extort money and favours from companies and allowed the friend to secretly interfere with state affairs.

Maryknoll Sister Jean Maloney, 86, has lived mostly in South Korea since 1953, when the Korean War ended. After leaving the Blue House on Sunday, Park expressed defiance about the corruption allegations.

Park, 65, is South Korea’s first democratically elected leader to be forced from office. “For the former leader of this country to not take responsibility for the nine Jindo dogs that she personally adopted and bred is basically abandonment”, CARE said.

Park left the presidential palace over the weekend, but animal rights activists reported her nine famous dogs, known colloquially as “the first dogs” housed in the palace, did not follow her to her new home. Her removal will help bring about an end to the political vacuum that South Korea has been in for the past three months, as preparations are now underway to replace her.

Prosecutors have finally been able to summon ex-President Park Geun-hye to appear for questioning next Tuesday over the massive Cheong Wa Dae corruption scandal.

The scandal has undermined support for the ruling conservatives and bolstered the chances of a prominent liberal, Moon Jae-in, who is leading in opinion polls.

According to the Constitution, a new president must be selected within 60 days of a leadership vacancy.

She has already been named a criminal suspect, accused of bribery for offering policy favors to firms that benefited Choi. “Seven school officials, including its former president and several professors, were indicted on criminal charges, and Chung’s admission to the university was cancelled”, the Washington Post said.

The Blue House said Park had left the dogs partly because it would not be good for the puppies to be uprooted from their home and denied they had been abandoned.