Former President Park Geun-hye’s residence in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, is under inspection by her guards on March 11, 2017, before she returns from Cheong Wa Dae. Park is currently staying in the presidential house despite the Constitutional Court’s decision on Friday to remove her from office over corruption scandal. (Yonhap)
For people who have followed South Korean politics for many years what former President Park was removed from office for is something that past Presidents have arguably done. How many shady corruption scandals have past ROK Presidents’ family and friends been involved in? For example Park’s shady friend is no where near as bad as former President Kim Dae-jung’s cash for summit scandal with North Korea. The ROK Constitutional Court says it has decided to end the bad political customs that have effected Korean politics with their ruling. I guess we will see if in the future every ROK President is now impeached for corruption scandals involving close friends or relatives:
“The president must exert her powers in respect to the Constitution and laws and her performance of her public duty must be transparently revealed for public evaluation,” Lee said. “But Park completely hid Choi’s intervention in state affairs. Whenever suspicions were raised, she denied and even criticized those raising the questions. Therefore, the checking and monitoring ability of constitutional institutions such as the National Assembly and media failed to function.”
(……..)
The court also announced supplementary opinions regarding Park’s alleged nonfeasance during the Sewol ferry’s sinking, in which 304 passengers died on April 16, 2014 due to a weak government rescue operation. Although the judges agreed that her nonfeasance during the tragedy could not be used as grounds for dismissal, Judges Kim Yi-su and Lee Jin-sung said Park did fail her constitutional duty to faithfully serve as the president and a public servant. Judge Ahn Chang-ho also gave the opinion that the impeachment trial was not an ideological contest, but a matter of protecting the constitutional order, and dismissal was necessary to end bad political customs. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
Could you imagine what the body count would be if the Constitutional Court did not approve the impeachment?:
Emergency medical crews treat a pro-Park protester who collapsed after having breathing problems on a street in front of Anguk Station, near the Constitutional Court, Friday. / Yonhap
Two people died and five were hurt on Friday during a demonstration protesting the Constitutional Court’s decision to impeach former Korean President Park Geun-hye. The incidents happened near the court in central Seoul.
The court’s eight judges announced their unanimous decision before noon.
A man surnamed Kim, 60, was found unconscious near Anguk subway station, near the court, about 12:15 p.m., according to the National Police Agency. He was taken to a hospital but died.
A man in his 70s, surnamed Kim, was found with a head injury near the station. He was bleeding heavily and taken to a hospital but also died.
Five protesters were injured, according to Newsis. A man in his 50s was injured after falling off the roof of a police bus near the station about 1:50 p.m. Reports said he stabbed himself in the abdomen, saying “I will save the President risking my own life.” [Korea Times]
The time is set for the ROK Constitutional Court to announce their ruling on the impeachment of President Park:
This image shows President Park Geun-hye (R) and Lee Jung-mi, acting chief justice of the Constitutional Court. (Yonhap)
The Constitutional Court will deliver its ruling on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye Friday, a court official said.
The announcement will be made at 11 a.m. and broadcast live from the main courtroom, court spokesman Bae Bo-yoon said Wednesday.
If the court upholds the impeachment, Park will be permanently removed from office and South Korea will be required to hold a presidential election within 60 days.
If the court rejects her impeachment, Park will be immediately reinstated to serve out her term through February. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but I would not be surprised to see riots in the streets if President Park is not impeached. On the flip side if she is impeached I am really curious to see what the evidence against her is?
I am really curious what evidence the prosecutors have against President Park that she committed bribery because I have yet to see any?:
South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye was named a bribery suspect on Tuesday as special prosecutors wrapped up their three-month probe into a massive influence-peddling scandal.
The probe team, led by Independent Counsel Park Young-soo, suspects that the president colluded with her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil and took bribes from the country’s largest conglomerate Samsung Group in return for business favors, its spokesman Lee Kyu-chul said.
President Park, currently awaiting the Constitutional Court’s decision on her impeachment, will not face charges for now as an incumbent president has immunity from criminal indictment.
State prosecutors will decide whether to continue with the investigation into Park as the deadline for the special probe team expires Tuesday.
Special prosecutors indicted Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of Samsung, on charges of giving or promising some 43.3 billion won (US$38.3 million) in bribes to the president’s jailed friend Choi in return for the government’s backing of a merger of two Samsung affiliates in 2015. [Yonhap]
I would not be surprised if the prosecutors named her as a bribery suspect just to appease the mobs of protesters knowing full well they don’t have any evidence to charge her.
Liberal and conservative groups host two separate rallies — one calling for President Park Geun-hye’s resignation and the other against Park’s impeachment — in central Seoul on Feb. 25, 2017, as she marked the fourth anniversary of her presidency. Park was impeached in December over a massive corruption scandal centered on her close friend Choi Soon-sil. The Constitutional Court is expected to determine whether to approve the impeachment or not next month. (Yonhap)
Members of conservative groups take part in a rally in areas around Seoul City Hall on Feb. 25, 2017, the fourth anniversary of President Park Geun-hye’s inauguration, to urge the Constitutional Court to dismiss the impeachment. Park was impeached in December over a massive corruption scandal centered on her close friend Choi Soon-sil. The court is expected to determine whether to approve the impeachment or not next month. (Yonhap)
It does seem pretty weird that the pro-Park protesters are waving US and Israelis flags which have absolutely nothing to do with the corruption scandal that caused her impeachment:
Controversy is brewing over the use of U.S. and Israeli flags by supporters of the impeached President Park Geun-hye during their weekend rallies that have nothing to do with the countries.
Right-wing groups have organized these rallies to counter much-larger demonstrations demanding Park’s removal from power by the Constitutional Court.
Pro-Park counterprotesters have waved the Korean national flag, or Taegeukgi, at the rallies, which they call “Taegeukgi rallies” themselves. Lately, they have also been bringing U.S. and Israeli flags to the political events.
The participants claim it is a way to show their “patriotism,” but criticism is prevalent that the flags are being misused.
Several protesters, who are mainly in their 60s or older, have been waving the Korean and U.S. flags together in a bid to underscore the Korea-U.S. security alliance against “North Korean sympathizers.”
Some others, who call themselves devout churchgoers, have brought the Israeli flag with a wooden cross and other symbols they think can represent their faith.
But critics said Monday that such expressions may only stir up misunderstandings toward the U.S and Israel as well as Christianity.
The U.S. and Israeli embassies in Seoul were not available for comment. [Korea Times]
The below article from The Diplomat is a really good article that details the complexities and key players of the current ROK presidential crisis. Like I have always said if it wasn’t for the tablet PC that JTBC News acquired the impeachment likely never would have happened due to the all the backroom deals in place to keep things quiet:
As someone living in Korea and having watched history unfold these last few months, it has been impossible to shake the feeling the media did what the Prosecution Service was reluctant to do. Without media involvement, the engagement of bystanders, and the propinquity of various storylines coming together, it appears possible and even likely the Choi Soon-sil scandal would have been snuffed out like so many other allegations before it. It was only after Park had been impeached and a special prosecutor assigned that more proper investigations began, culminating in the parliamentary hearings and the shocking indictment of Samsung’s chief, Lee Jae-yong. The courts, unfortunately, have yet to demonstrate a change from the norm, flatly denying the special prosecutor’s request for a warrant to arrest Lee, citing “a lack of evidence” despite overwhelming media coverage and Lee’s own admissions in parliamentary hearings to the contrary.
Based on the evidence presented here and in those hearings, it becomes difficult to view the current presidential scandal as a single, isolated incident. Instead, the picture painted depicts a deeply embedded tradition of backdoor dealings on an epidemic scale affecting all levels of government, especially the very bureaus that should be overseeing justice. Beyond influence-peddling, the scandal extends to strong-arm tactics to suppress the truth by manipulating the press, questionable due process in the courts, and possible tampering with the Prosecution Service.
Had it not been for Choi Soon-sil’s tablet, Park may have never been impeached. [The Diplomat]
I highly recommend reading the whole thing at the link. By the way I don’t think I will ever buy another Nature Republic product ever again after reading about the shadiness of its CEO in the article.
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