The president has a duty to spare her country months of drift
Seoul, Dec.3.─ Many members of the party of South Korea’s president, Park Geun-hye, want it. So does the opposition, which controls South Korea’s parliament. So do most ordinary Koreans: they have been marching for it by the millions. Even Ms Park says she is ready to do it. So why has she not yet resigned?
Ms Park is hopelessly mired in an ever-deepening influence-peddling scandal (see article). She admits that she shared too much information about affairs of state with a close confidante, Choi Soon-sil, including advance drafts of many of her speeches. Ms Choi, prosecutors say, went on to use her clout with the president to extort money and favours from big companies and other organisations. Ms Park, the prosecutors allege, was an active participant in this racket, ordering her aides to help Ms Choi extract her payouts.
The response of Ms Park to the allegations has been muddled. She says the notion that she took part in influence-peddling is a politically motivated fabrication—even though the prosecutors behind the claim work for her administration. She has said that she will co-operate with the investigation into the scandal, but is refusing to speak to prosecutors. This week she said she had committed a “huge fault” and is willing to leave office, but that parliament should decide how and when.
Just what she meant by this is anyone’s guess. Parliament had been about to impeach her, but Ms Park’s offer is prompting second thoughts. Impeachment is a long and cumbersome process in South Korea. Once parliament has approved a set of charges, the constitutional court reviews them ...
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