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Calls for ousted President Park Geun-hye’s arrest are growing in South Korea.

Park Geun-hye was forced from office on March 10, after judges unanimously upheld parliament’s decision to impeach her over her role in a corruption scandal involving close friend, Choi Soon-sil.

Despite the ruling, Park Geun-hye remains inside the presidential compound.

Thousands turned out for rallies in Seoul on March 11, a day after three people involved in protests died there.

Many were calling for the impeached president’s arrest, although a smaller number of her supporters also gathered in nearby streets.

There are fears the two sides may clash and there is a heavy police presence.

A spokeswoman for the protesters supporting the court’s decision, Choi In-sook, told Reuters they were demanding the arrest of Park Geun-hye.

President Park Geun-hye has issued an apology to the nation after three officials of the country’s intelligence agency were charged with fabricating evidence in a spying case

She has lost her presidential immunity and could face criminal charges.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s election commission announced a “free and fair” vote would be held by May 9 at the latest.

Currently, Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party is leading in the polls, with one survey putting him almost 22% ahead of his nearest rival, acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn, who is loyal to Park Geun-hye.

Hwang Kyo-ahn has called for calm, saying the government should remain stable to prevent internal conflict from spreading.

However, police are bracing themselves for more violence following the deaths of two of Park Geun-hye’s supporters on March 10.

A third person, aged 74, is understood to have had a heart attack during March 10 protests, and died on the next day, according to Reuters.

Park Geun-hye’s office said she would not be leaving the Blue House, South Korea’s presidential palace, on March 10 nor making any statement.

It is understood Park Geun-hye will not leave until her own home in Seoul is repaired and cleaned.

Salvează

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Tens of thousands of South Koreans have marched in Seoul to celebrate the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye and demanding her full removal.

Park Geun-hye is suspended while the top court considers whether to uphold December 9 parliamentary vote to impeach her.

She is accused of allowing a close friend to profit from her connections with the presidency.

According to correspondents, the gathering, estimated at 200,000 by organizers, was smaller than in recent weeks.

Meanwhile PM Hwang Kyo-ahn, who became acting president after yesterday’s vote, sought to calm concerns over national security and to reassure markets

He said on December 10: “So far, financial and foreign exchange markets have been relatively stable and there are no signs of unusual movements by the North [Koreans], but all public servants should bear vigilance in mind.”

Image source Wikimedia

Image source Wikimedia

The motion to impeach Park Geun-hye passed by 234 votes to 56, meaning many members of her Saenuri party voted in favor.

Park Geun-hye’s supporters held a Seoul rally that drew an estimated 15,000 people on December 10. Waving national flags, they carried banners that read: “President Park, Don’t Cry” and “Nullify impeachment”.

At the heart of the case is Park Geun-hye’s relationship with long-time friend Choi Soon-sil, who faces charges of coercion and abuse of power.

It is alleged that after Park Geun-hye became president in 2013, Choi Soon-sil, 60, used their friendship to pressure powerful corporations into donating to foundations she controlled and then siphoned off funds for her personal use.

Prosecutors say Park  Geun-hye had a “considerable” role in the alleged corruption, which she has denied.

The Constitutional Court has 180 days to make a final ruling.

If at least six of the court’s nine judges rule against Park Geun-hye, she will become the first sitting South Korean president to be deposed in the country’s democratic era and a new presidential election will be held within 60 days.

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South Korea is seeing what is thought to be the largest protests so far demanding President Park Geun-hye steps down.

Park Geun-hye is accused of allowing her friend, Choi Soon-sil, to manipulate power from behind the scenes.

She has apologized twice on national TV, but has so far resisted calls to resign.

Image source Wikimedia

Image source Wikimedia

According to protest organizers, 1.3 million people had gathered Seoul on November 26, despite cold weather and snow.

They expect another half a million protesters to turn out in other regions.

However, police put the turnout at about 260,000. About 25,000 officers were being deployed in the capital, local media said.

The protests, which began five weeks ago, are the largest in South Korea since pro-democracy demonstrations of the 1980s.

Those attending on November 26 came from a cross-section of South Korean society, with farmers, Buddhist monks and university students all involved.

Park Geun-hye, whose approval rating has dropped to 5%, apologized earlier this month for putting “too much faith in a personal relationship”, and has pledged to co-operate in an official investigation into the scandal.

South Korea’s constitution does not allow a sitting president to be prosecuted, and Park Geun-hye has 15 months left in her term.

Now that prosecutors have directly linked Park Geun-hye to the scandal, it is possible she could be impeached for breaking the law.

Prosecutors are expected to bring charges against Choi Soon-sil, along with two former presidential aides. She was arrested earlier this month.

Choi Soon-sil is accused of trying to extort huge sums of money from South Korean companies, and suspected of using her friendship with President Park Geun-hye to solicit business donations for a non-profit fund she controlled.

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