REUTERS - South Korean
lawmakers began voting on Friday on whether to impeach President Park Geun-hye
over an influence peddling scandal, setting the stage for her
to become the
country's first elected leader to be pushed out of office in disgrace.
Parliament was
expected to vote in favor of impeachment, with support from some members of
Park's conservative Saenuri Party, according to opposition parties, but the
Constitutional Court must decide whether to uphold the motion, a process that
could take up to 180 days.
There have been mass
rallies every Saturday for the past six weeks calling for Park to quit, and
opinion polls show overwhelming public support for her impeachment.
The secret balloting
and counting was expected to take roughly one hour.
"If parliament
is unable to bring the situation to a resolution according to the will of the
people, there will be a crisis that is beyond our imagination," the leader
of the main opposition Democratic Party, Choo Mi-ae told a party meeting ahead
of the vote.
Parliament was
closed to the public on Friday on orders of the speaker, and hours ahead of the
scheduled vote, anti-Park activists scuffled with police as they tried to drive
two tractors up to the main gate, where more than a 1,000 protesters were
gathered.
Police subsequently
shut down traffic on a 10-lane highway in front of the parliament's grounds and
blockaded a bridge leading to the area.
Park, 64, is accused
of colluding with a friend and a former aide, both of whom have been indicted
by prosecutors, to pressure big businesses to donate to two foundations set up
to back her policy initiatives.
She has denied
wrongdoing but apologized for carelessness in her ties with her friend, Choi
Soon-sil.
Park, who is serving
a single five-year term that was set to end in February 2018, said this week
she would await the court's ruling, signaling that political crisis could drag
on.
The daughter of a
military ruler who led the country for 18 years before being assassinated by
his disgruntled spy chief in 1979, Park is under intense pressure to step down
immediately.
If Park leaves
office she would lose presidential immunity, and could be prosecuted for abuse
of power and bribery, among other charges.
A poll released on
Friday showed her approval rating stood at 5 percent, a slight improvement from
a record low 4 percent.
The survey by Gallup
Korea - which is not affiliated with U.S.-based Gallup, Inc. - also showed 81
percent of respondents supported impeachment.
Parliament
introduced the impeachment bill on Thursday and it must be voted on within 24
to 72 hours at the domed National Assembly building that sits on an island on
the south side of the Han River.
If the motion
passes, the Constitutional Court will determine whether parliament followed due
process and whether there are sufficient grounds for impeachment, a process
that will involve arguments from the two sides in public hearings.
The leaders of the
two main opposition parties said their 159 members would all resign if the
impeachment motion failed, taking responsibility for their inability to follow
through on the demands of the public.
SOLE PRECEDENT
Prime Minister Hwang
Kyo-ahn, who holds what is largely a ceremonial role, would assume interim
presidential powers while the court deliberates.
Hwang would take the
helm at a time of heightened tension with North Korea.
South Korea's
economic outlook is worsening too, in part due to the internal political
uncertainty, as well as worries about the potential impact of U.S.
President-elect Donald Trump's policies on trade and foreign affairs.
The 9-member
Constitutional Court is considered conservative in its makeup but some of its
former judges have said the case against Park is strong and was likely to be
approved.
In 2004, parliament
impeached then-president Roh Moo-hyun, suspending his powers for 63 days while
the court reviewed the decision, which it overturned.
The most-searched
items on leading web portal Naver on Friday were related to what happened
around Roh's impeachment.
The prime minister
at the time, Goh Kun, said in a 2013 memoir that he had decided to stay
"low key" while he held the reins of power.
"Even if his
duty was suspended, President Roh was staying at the Blue House residence. There
was no need to create unnecessary tension,” Goh wrote.
REUTERS
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