South Korean president Park Geun-hye has been impeached, with new elections due in 60 days
SOUTH Korea’s controversial president Park Geun-hye has been removed from office after a court upheld her impeachment. A new election must be held in 60 days.
Eight judges from the Constitutional Court assembled to issue a verdict that remove Park from office over a corruption scandal.
Their unanimous decision brought months of political turmoil to a climax and triggers a new presidential election.
Park’s actions had “seriously impaired the spirit of... democracy and the rule of law,” said constitutional court chief justice Lee Jung-Mi.
“President Park Geun-Hye... has been dismissed.”
It also means Park, the country’s first female president, becomes its first leader to be removed by impeachment. She is obliged to leave the presidential Blue House and loses her executive immunity from prosecution. 
Protesters shout slogans during a rally calling for impeachment of President Park Geun-hye near the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea. Picture: AP/Lee Jin-manSource:AP
Rival groups of supporters and opponents watched as the verdict was read out live on television — a process that took little more than 20 minutes.
Park was found to have broken the law by allowing her friend Choi Soon-Sil to meddle in state affairs, and breached rules on public servants’ activities.
“The president has to use her power based on the constitution and the laws and have the details of her work shown transparently so that people can evaluate her works,” said Lee.
“But Park concealed completely Choi’s meddling in state affairs and denied it whenever suspicions over the act emerged and even criticised those who raised the suspicions.” 
A new election is required within 60 days after the removal of the President. Picture: AP/Lee Jin-manSource:AP
It is the first time a South Korean president has been driven from office before the end of their term since democracy replaced dictatorship in the late 1980s.
In anticipation of the ruling, pro-Park supporters, many of them dressed in army-style fatigues and wearing red berets, and those who want Park gone began showing up around the Constitutional Court building in downtown Seoul.
A big television screen was set up near the court so that people could watch the verdict live. Hundreds of police also began preparing for the protests, putting on helmets with visors and black, hard-plastic breastplates and shin guards.
South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament voted to impeach Park in December amid suspicions that she colluded with a confidante to filch from companies and allowed the friend to secretly manipulate state affairs. 
Anti-government activists hold placards reading “Impeach the President Park Geun-Hye!” outside the Constitutional Court in Seoul. Picture: AFP/Jung Yeon-JeSource:AFP
For Park to be formally removed, at least six of the court’s eight justices had to support the impeachment motion filed by lawmakers, which accuses the president of extortion, bribery, abuse of power and leaking government secrets. Park has apologised for putting trust in her friend, Choi (pronounced CHWEY) Soon-sil, but denies any legal wrongdoing.
The country’s election law requires a presidential vote within 60 days, which likely means May 9. 
The protests were some of the largest the nation has ever seen. Picture: Kim Min-Hee-Pool/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
The ruling instantly strips Park of her powers and also her immunity against prosecution.
She could be interrogated by prosecutors seeking to indict her on criminal charges.
Park has repeatedly refused to be interviewed by prosecutors over the scandal in recent months, but that will be harder to do if prosecutors have an arrest warrant.
http://www.news.com.au/world/south-korean-president-park-geunhye-has-been-impeached-with-new-elections-due-in-60-days/news-story/5a8effd16624f0812662c2c668eea41f
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Post time 10-3-2017 11:45 AM
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