Park facing possibility of going from palace to prison

Lowdown on ROK’s presidential candidates

An Hee-jung

A youthfullooking provincial governor, An, 51, surged to second place in opinion polls after former UN chief Ban Ki-moon dropped out of the race. He is a two-term governor of South Chungcheong province. Some supporters have nicknamed him the “Obama of South Korea”. An came second in the latest poll, with support of 17 percent of the 1,005 people questioned. An favors more engagement with Pyongyang.

Ahn, 55, is a former doctor and computer businessman. His popularity has waned in recent months after stepping down as co-chair of the new opposition People’s Party, after it became embroiled in a kickback scandal over advertising funds. He got the support of 9 percent of respondents in the latest poll. He is open to dialogue on Pyongyang, though has also advocated a tough line.

Ahn Cheol-soo Hwang Kyo-ahn

Prime Minister Hwang, 59, became acting president after parliament voted to impeach Park on Dec 9. He is considered a loyalist in Park’s cabinet. Hwang scored 9 percent in the latest poll.

Lee Jae-myeong

Lee, the 52-year-old mayor of Seongnam, has surged in the polls as an outspoken critic of Park. A member of the main opposition Democratic Party, Lee has said he wants to be the country’s Bernie Sanders, the US Democratic Party insurgent who ran against Hillary Clinton. The latest poll puts him at 8 percent.

LIU YUN / XINHUA Supporters of impeached president Park Geun-hye are confronted by police after Park’s impeachment was accepted in Seoul on Friday. Later in violent clashes, about 30 protesters and police officers were injured.