People want her immediate resignation

The high profile corruption scandal directly involving South Korean President Park Geun-hye appears to be approaching its peak. Big rallies of protest demanding her resignation have taken place on five Saturdays running. The Opposition wants her impeached and is planning a vote on the matter this Friday and a sixth rally of protest on Saturday.

The scandal broke out after the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office obtained evidence to the effect that the head of state’s close friend, Choi Soon-sil, had been taking advantage of that friendship, “persuading” big South Korean companies to donate millions of dollars to two non-profit foundations she controlled and which actually served to add to Ms. Choi’s own fortune – or so suspected the investigating officers. Among other things, Ms. Choi was suspected of using their friendship to influence Ms. Park when making major decisions. There were media reports about Ms. Choi being the daughter of Choi Tae-min, a pseudo-Christian leader who set up a cult called The Church of Eternal Life and was Ms. Park’s mentor until his death in 1994. On November 20, Ms. Choi was formally charged with various offences, including abuse of authority, coercion, attempted coercion, and attempted fraud. Two former presidential advisers were also charged by prosecutors, who said they thought the president conspired in the wrongdoing.

President Park Geun-hye twice appeared on television to offer her apology but refused to resign. However, on November 29, she declared she would be willing to stand down “once lawmakers come up with measures to transfer power in a way that minimizes any power vacuum and chaos in governance.” She added that all she wanted was for South Korea to survive the current state of chaos and get back to normal, as soon as possible.

A spokesman for the opposition Democratic Party, Youn Kwan-suk, said the speech was a “trick” which “lacked reflection.” “What people want is her immediate resignation, not dragging out and dodging the responsibility to parliament,” he told Yonhap News Agency.

This corruption scandal has dropped Ms. Park’s approval rating down to four percent, the lowest record for a democratically elected head of state. The Korean parliament’s ruling remains anyone’s guess. Hwang Young-chul of the anti-Park group told The Korea Times that it would be difficult for them to be united in voting for the impeachment motion: “To be honest, we are now divided in our position,” he said. He added that the ruling party lawmakers who are not affiliated with the President hold the key to passing the impeachment motion. The law requires support from two-thirds of the 300-member National Assembly to pass the motion.

The last impeachment case dates back to March 2004, when the National Assembly’s resolution made President Roh Moo-hyun stand down and face charges of breaches of election laws and corruption [whereupon he made his last jump from the top of a mountain near his home village. – Ed.].

The case with President Park Geun-hye is different. She is unmarried, daughter of ex-military dictator Park Chung-hee. She won presidency on the wave crest of a campaign that claimed she was “married to the nation” and that the people’s interests came first for her. Under the circumstances, she appears obliged to keep that promise.

Media reports say she will have to meet with the prosecutors and make an exhaustive statement with regard to the Choi Soon-sil case (her closest friend being popularly tagged as a shamanistic advisor to the head of state). This or her immediate resignation that would spare her country months or even years of political chaos and endless debate.

Of course, her resignation would be followed by a number of proceedings, considering the legally defined single five-year term of presidency. Normally, Ms. Park would leave her office in February 2018. Experts say that even if she succeeded in holding that office for another year, this would damage South Korea, what with all the challenges this country is facing – North Korea in the first place, with its nuclear saber rattling, posing perhaps the biggest threat to the world. It is also clear that Donald Trump will have his plans regarding South Korea and its ruling party when time comes to use his authority as President of the United States (January 20, 2017).

Analysts also see a positive aspect to this scandal, considering that any successor to Ms. Park’s post will have a strong foothold in combating corruption that lies under the surface of national economy, keeping close ties between corporate groups and politicians.

“It is heartening to note in a country and region with a long history of authoritarian rule that democratic institutions that are barely three decades old, including a free press and independent judiciary, have been able to hold power to account. Once Ms. Park eventually departs the stage, there is good reason to hope that South Korea will emerge from this affair with a more robust democracy,” wrote The Financial Times.