How It Works: South Korea Impeaches a President

Park has only acknowledged carelessness in her ties with Choi, who Park has said had helped her through hard times. They earlier in the day agreed to put the parliamentary motion to a vote Friday. She cannot be prosecuted while in office but she can be investigated, and charges could be laid against her once she steps down.

Park said the huge sums that had changed hands had been directed toward projects for “the public good”.

Park’s justice minister and a senior advisor have both stepped down, while even staunch supporters from within the president’s ruling Saenuri Party have joined calls for her departure.

“Whereas polls showed around 70 percent of respondents opposed efforts to impeach Roh, sparking public protests against the NA, recent surveys show almost 80 percent of respondents are in favour of giving Park the boot”, Seaman said.

“What people want is her immediate resignation, not dragging out and dodging the responsibility to the parliament”, said a party spokesperson.

I will give you a detailed account of the scandal in the near future.

“I heard at least three of the five stages of grief”, he said of the speech.

But her political career was always overshadowed by the legacy of her father – who is credited with dragging the country out of poverty but reviled for his regime’s human rights abuses.

All the while, everyone must gauge how this will play in December 2017 presidential elections, and the widely expected presidential campaign of Ban Ki-moon, who is finishing up his term as United Nations secretary general.

“Based on our calculations, advised by legal experts, Park may face a 45-year jail term”, the Democratic Party’s Yun Ho-jung was quoted as saying by local news agency Yonhap. A key opposition leader, Choo Mi-ae, called Park’s deferral to the legislature a “trick”. “She’s been irresponsible attitude in dealing with a scandal caused by her, a sign of her disrespect for the citizens”.

A newly released Wikileaks cable from the U.S. embassy in Seoul described him as having “complete control over the body and soul of the president in her formative years” in 2007. The placards read: “Park Geun-hye should step down”.

Park’s latest remarks are a possible bid to de-fang that effort, critics say, with the president hoping that she can cut a deal that would avoid – or lessen – formal sanctions.

The president’s announcement comes after weeks of controversy over the scandal, which has ensnared many high-profile figures inside and outside public life.

For Park Geun-hye, the next few days, perhaps the most crucial in her presidency, will determine what political price will she pay, and exactly how much time she has bought.

As President, Park is now immune from prosecution.

Park΄s presidency has been rocked by a political scandal involving her longtime confidant Choi Soon-sil, who was indicted earlier this month for interfering in state affairs and directing funds to her non-profit organizations for her personal use. They also allege she coerced big businesses, such as Samsung and Hyundai, into donating millions of dollars to foundations she controlled.