Hundreds of thousands rally to demand ouster of South Korean president

A sea of protesters stood face to face with police 200 meters from South Korea’s presidential office Saturday evening, near enough for the country’s leader to hear their cry: “Park Geun-hye, resign!”

South Korean president Park Geun-Hye will not answer questions from prosecutors over a snowballing influence-peddling scandal rocking her presidency, her lawyer said yesterday.

Impeaching President Park could be a political challenge for opposition parties as the impeachment process can take months and cause division.

Nevertheless her approval ratings have plunged to a record low for a sitting president as top advisers and some of South Korea’s most powerful companies are caught up in the ever-widening scandal.

Demanding the resignation of President Park Geun-hye was a slow and gruelling 10-day journey for South Korean farmer Lee Hyo-shin, in a vehicle unable to move faster than 12 miles per hour. Park is also alleged to have directly or indirectly pressured major conglomerates into making donations to the foundations, which legal experts say could constitute an abuse of authority.

A Wikileaks cable released last month shows that the US embassy in Seoul described Choi’s father in 2007 as having “complete control over the body and soul of the president in her formative years”.

Rally organiser Han Sun-bum said Park was “neither qualified nor capable of being a president”.

Protesters approach within 200 meters of the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on November 26, 2016, to call for President Park Geun-hye’s resignation.

Park, whose five-year term ends in February 2018, has apologized twice over the affair but is resisting calls for her resignation.

Prosecutors announced last Sunday that Park is a suspect in a widening investigation into the explosive scandal involving Choi and two former presidential secretaries.

Choi has reportedly received spiritual guidance from her father for years.

The public has been calling for Park’s impeachment, and that demand has been mounting.

The presidential office and Ms Park’s lawyer have denied the prosecutors’ accusation. South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party (The Minjoo) has announced plans to seek vote on Park’s impeachment in December.

South Korean media accused the President of following a cult and allowing cult rituals to be held in the presidential palace.

Those calling for Park’s resignation chanted slogans in English, such as “Step Down”, while the conservative group waved United States and Korean flags, and shouted slogans in support of Park.