South Korea’s impeached Park leaves Blue House
probing the scandal.
Live television footage followed her motorcade as it drove from the Blue House to Park’s private residence in southern Seoul.
A smiling Park was seen waving to her supporters from inside her black vehicle as it pulled up to her home in the glitzy Gangnam district.
Hundreds of Park’s flag-waving supporters had gathered outside her home, with some 2,000 police officers deployed to prevent any disturbances, according to reports.
Park, wearing a dark jacket with her hair neatly pulled back, waved to the crowd after arriving at her home and greeting former aides and lawmakers.
She was found to have broken the law by allowing her friend Choi Soon-sil to meddle in state affairs, and breached rules on public servants’ activities.
A presidential election is to be held within 60 days of the ruling, with local media suggesting May 9 as the most likely date.
‘Power of candlelight’
The likely winner – by a distance – is the liberal former Democratic Party leader Moon Jae-In, who enjoys 36 percent popular support.
“If the power of candlelight has brought us this far, we now have to work together for a complete victory,” Moon told a news conference yesterday, referring to weekly candlelit vigils that called for Park’s ouster.
“South Korea will make new histor y through a regime change.”
But she could now face formal arrest if she refuses a summons, with local reports saying prosecutors were mulling a travel ban.
Tens of thousands of antiPark protesters took to the streets to celebrate the court’s ruling on Saturday while some 20,000 angry pro-Park flagwaving protesters rallied nearby, demanding a review of the one-off decision.
Police arrested several protesters for violent behaviour, with a third person confirmed dead Saturday in hospital after losing consciousness the day before in a clash between proPark supporters and r i ot police.