Hundreds of thousands gather in Seoul for protest against South Korean president

It surpassed the June 1987 rally in which about 1 million people protested against the military dictatorship.

Central Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square and the surrounding areas were packed with an estimated 1.5m peaceful protestors, while these protests – many demanding Park’s arrest – also took place across the country in Busan, Jeju and other large Korean cities. “I would like to say that this is absolutely not true”, she said. For years, she has given Park spiritual guidance.

The demonstrations have been peaceful and nearly festive.

Food, placards and leaflets were being handed out, street vendors were selling candles and chairs, and some protestors were dancing to music being blared from loudspeakers. Mothers showed up with children, or with pet dogs wrapped in padded vests, and young couples bundled in winter coats sang along as loudspeakers blared catchy tunes calling for Park’s ouster.

“South Korea’s finalization of an information-sharing agreement with Japan may be postponed, and the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Air Defense system, announced by the United States and South Korea in July, will now encounter heightened opposition”, he further noted.

The South Korean leader is accused of allowing her friend Choi Soon-sil to influence state affairs by putting pressure on major companies like Samsung to hand over colossal sums to her two “charity foundations”.

More than 30 Saenuri lawmakers support Park’s impeachment, with 29 needed to cross party lines for the motion to be passed.

If parliament secured the necessary two-thirds vote needed for an impeachment motion, it would be up to the Constitutional Court to confirm or reject the motion. Her approval rating fell to just 4 percent in a weekly survey released on Friday by Gallup Korea, an all time-low for a democratically elected South Korean president.

Her disapproval rating rose three percentage points to 93 percent. An also said that Choi had been similarly involved with a 2014 decision by the South Korean government to purchase 40 of Lockheed’s F-35’s, rather than Boeing’s F-15’s. Park nor her lawyer have yet to respond. Join us in a conversation about world events, the newsgathering process or whatever aspect of the news universe you find interesting or important. “Her strategy is clear – keep her presidential immunity and delay any criminal penalty”.

Another official from the presidential office told the paper that Park might actually accept “political and legal responsibility” over the snowballing crisis and press the National Assembly to “combine forces to overcome the national emergency”.

Thousands of people marched in streets close to the presidential Blue House, areas police usually don’t permit, carrying signs and flags.