South Korean president impeached in stunning fall

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South Korean president impeached in stunning fall

PTI

Seoul

South Korean lawmakers Friday impeached President Park Geun-hye, a stunning and swift fall for the country's first female leader amid protests that drew millions into the streets in united fury.

After the vote, parliamentary officials hand-delivered formal documents to the presidential Blue House that stripped Park of her power and allowed her No 2, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, to assume leadership until the country's Constitutional Court rules on whether Park must permanently step down. The court has up to six months to decide.

“I'd like to say that I'm deeply sorry to the people because the nation has to experience this turmoil because of my negligence and lack of virtue at a time when our security and economy both face difficulties,” Park said at a Cabinet meeting after the vote.

Once called the “Queen of Elections” for her ability to pull off wins for her party, Park has been surrounded in the Blue House in recent weeks by millions of South Koreans who have taken to the streets in protest.

They are furious over what prosecutors say was collusion by Park with a longtime friend to extort money from companies and to give that confidante extraordinary sway over government decisions.

Organisers said about 10,000 people gathered in front of the National Assembly to demand that lawmakers pass the impeachment motion.

Some had spent the night on the streets after traveling from other cities. Scuffles broke out between angry anti-Park farmers, some of whom had driven tractors to the assembly from their farms, and police.

When impeachment happened, many of those gathered raised their hands in the air and leapt about, cheering and laughing.

“Can you hear the roar of the people in front of the National Assembly? We need to overcome the old establishment and create a new Republic of Korea by passing (the impeachment motion),” Kim Kwan-young, an opposition lawmaker said ahead of the vote, referring to South Korea's formal name. “Our great people have already opened the way. Let's make it so we can stand honorably in front of history and our descendants.” The handover of power prompted the prime minister to order South Korea's defense minister to put the military on a state of heightened readiness to brace for any potential provocation by North Korea. No suspicious movements by the North were reported, however.

Park will be formally removed from office if at least six of the Constitutional Court's nine justices support her impeachment, and the country would then hold a presidential election within 60 days.

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Loses power, keeps title, house, salary

Park loses her powers as commander-in-chief of South Korea's 630,000-member military, and her ability to appoint officials, sign treaties with foreign countries and carry out special pardons of inmates. Park also cannot preside over meetings of presidential secretaries.

SEOUL:South Korean President Park Geun-hye's impeachment on Friday has stripped her of power - but not the perks.

Park gets to keep living at the presidential Blue House, using her official car and plane, collecting the same monthly salary (about $15,000 reportedly) and receiving round-the-clock security.

Park also holds onto the title 'President.'

But with nothing officially to do, it's uncertain how she'll spend her days during the up-to-six months the country's Constitutional Court has to decide whether to accept the impeachment and formally end her presidency.

Hwang will handle the president's duties until the Constitutional Court rules on Park's fate. If the court removes her, he would continue to serve that role until a presidential election is held; that vote would have to take place within 60 days of Park's removal.

With Park allowed to stay at the Blue House, Hwang is to govern the country from his Seoul office.

In 2004, when President Roh Moo-hyun was impeached by lawmakers, he spent his time at the Blue House reading books and newspapers and mountain-climbing with journalists, according to South Korean media.

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The bureaucratic machinery that suspended Park and transferred her powers to Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn began churning as soon as the impeachment motion passed Friday.

National Assembly Speaker Chung Se-kyun ordered the chairman of the assembly's legislation and judiciary committee to convey the original version of the motion to the Constitutional Court. After receiving the motion, the court started the official procedure of its deliberation by appointing its chief justice.

Chung also sent parliamentary officials to deliver copies of the impeachment motion and an official document on the motion's passage to both the Blue House and the Constitutional Court. Technically, the president's powers were transferred to the prime minister the moment one of the president's aides received the papers on Friday evening.

With Park allowed to stay at the Blue House, Hwang is to govern the country from his Seoul office.