adminHundreds of thousands of South Koreans have taken to the streets of Seoul to demand the resignation of scandal-hit President Park Geun-hye, in one of the largest anti-government protests in decades.
On the back of official appeals for calm, police deployed around 25 000 officers yesterday for the third instalment in a series of weekly mass demonstrations in the South Korean capital that have left Park fighting for her political life.
In an effort to soothe public anger, Park has issued several apologies, reshuffled her top officials, and even agreed to relinquish some of her extensive executive powers, but the popular calls for her to step down have been relentless.
“We are feeling the weight of the serious public mood,” Jung Youn-kuk, presidential spokesman, acknowledged on Friday.
Prosecutors are investigating allegations that Choi (60) leveraged her personal relationship with the president to coerce donations from large companies like Samsung to nonprofit foundations which she set up and used for personal gain. The scandal engulfing Park is focused on a close personal friend, Choi Soon-sil, who is currently under arrest on charges of fraud and abuse of power.
She is also accused of interfering in government affairs, despite holding no official position.
Yesterday, prosecutors questioned the head of the country’s largest steelmaker as well as a top Samsung executive. – AlJazeera
Bongani Ndlovu