South Korean Constitutional Court Unanimously Upholds Park Geun-hye Impeachment

Eight judges in the Constitutional Court of Korea will rule at 11 a.m. on the validity of a motion to impeach Park, who has been suspended since parliament voted to oust her in December.

Park was impeached in December on charges of receiving millions of dollars in bribes from businesses and abusing her powers in a scheme with her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil.

Among five indicted on related charges is Kim Young-jae, who runs a luxury anti-aging clinic in southern Seoul that was reportedly frequented by Choi and her family. Instead, her lawyers read a statement: “I feel crushed by all these misunderstandings and allegations”, Park said.

Thousands of Park supporters gathered near the presidential Blue House, while those who oppose her parked themselves at Gwanghwamun Square.

The allegations stem from a political scandal that has rocked South Korea since the fall and touches almost every power center in the country.

2012: Park wins her party’s primary to become presidential candidate and defeats liberal candidate Moon Jae-in. In the time since National Assembly indictment committee member and Righteous Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong requested an impeachment trial, the Constitutional Court has held three preliminary hearings and 17 sessions of arguments and questioned 25 witnesses, lasting 84 hours and 45 minutes altogether.

Toner says Park’s removal is “a domestic issue on which the United States takes no position”, and that it’s up to the South Korean people to determine their country’s future. That’s led to massive but peaceful street rallies in recent months reminiscent of protests that led to the country’s democratization in the 1980s. South Korea’s political parties will now scramble as an election fast approaches in early May.

The fact that judges were required to disclose their individual votes, unlike previous cases, also heightened the pressure on each justice, said Sean King, senior vice president of Park Strategies.

Park, 65, is the daughter of former military strongman Park Chung-hee, who served as president from 1963 to 1979 and oversaw South Korea’s transformation into an economic powerhouse by supporting conglomerates such as Samsung and Hyundai.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.