Park paves way for further probe into SKorean scandal

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

South Korean President Park Geun-hye officially gave her consent Tuesday to an independent probe that could support her own impeachment.

Local reports confirmed she signed into law a bill that will allow the country’s main opposition parliamentary parties to nominate candidates to lead the investigation into snowballing suspicions of wrongdoing at the highest levels of government and business.

Park has already been accused by state prosecutors of being part of a scheme with a private confidante and presidential office aides to pressure conglomerates into making donations as well as giving away government secrets.

But as the president is protected from criminal indictment by her position, the National Assembly’s opposition bloc formally decided Monday to prepare for her impeachment.

The presidential office said over the weekend that the independent investigation will clear Park’s name, having rejected the findings of state prosecutors -- who will bring their case against the president’s confidante and aides to court for a first hearing on Dec. 13.

In this tangle of legal proceedings, Park is yet to become the first sitting South Korean president to be questioned by investigators -- although she vowed to cooperate with prosecutors during a public apology earlier this month before her status was changed from witness to suspect.

The next step after two candidates are nominated by the opposition will be for Park to select one of them to oversee an investigative team of more than 100 members over a maximum of four months.

Tuesday also saw two prominent ruling party lawmakers quit, reflecting a rift between representatives loyal to the president and those who would likely vote to ensure the required two-thirds of the Assembly favor Park’s impeachment.

However, the process would last until the middle of next year at least and lead to Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn taking charge -- effectively protecting the policies of the current administration with the president’s single term expiring in early 2018.

That reality is not likely to sit well with the public given that their leader’s Gallup Korea approval rating has floundered at five percent as a fifth weekend of mass protests demanding Park’s resignation is planned for this Saturday.