COURT SACKS PARK GEUN-HYE, SOUTH KOREA PRESIDENT

SEOUL, South Korea – President Park Geun-Hye of South Korea was this morning removed from office, over her role in the corruption scandal involving her close friend, Choi Soon-sil.

Ms Choi is accused of using her presidential connections with Geun-Hye to pressurise companies to give millions of dollars in donations to non-profit foundations she controlled.

South Korean lamakers voted to impeach Ms Park in December and since then there has been pressure from within for the court to okay the decision of the lawmakers.

The judgement by the Constitutional Court on Friday, March 10, 2017, was well received across Korea where many have been holding protest marches to pressurise the court to rule in favour of the masses.

Ms Park’s office said she would neither be leaving the Presidential palace nor be making any statement on her removal.
But out there in the street, the message is clear, with many applauding the decision of the court.

The panel of eight judges ruled that Ms Park’s actions “seriously impaired the spirit of democracy and the rule of law” and that she had broken the law by allowing Ms Choi to meddle in state affairs, and had breached guidelines on official secrets by leaking numerous documents.




Ms Park had “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,” the panel said.

The panel also dismissed accusations that Ms Park had infringed on freedom of the press by creating a media blacklist of cultural figures, and criticism of her response during the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster.