Seoul turmoil as top court evicts South Korean Prez
Altercation between Park’s aide Choi and her ‘toy boy’ over a dog probably exposed the corruption scandal
Seoul, March 10: South Korean President Park Geun-hye was fired Friday as a court upheld her impeachment over a corruption scandal that has paralysed the nation at a time of mounting tensions in East Asia.
The unanimous decision brought to a climax months of political turmoil that saw millions of people take to the streets in weekly protests, and triggers a new presidential election to be held within 60 days.
That will offer South Korea a chance to draw a line under the scandal, which has occupied its attention for months, even as the North has unleashed new missile launches and threats that have raised international alarm.
Ms Park, the country’s first female president, also becomes its first leader to be removed by impeachment. She loses her executive immunity from prosecution and is obliged to leave the Blue House — although she did not do so with a spokesman saying her private residence still needed to be prepared.
Constitutional court Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi said Ms Park’s actions “seriously impaired the spirit of representative democracy and the rule of law”. “President Park Geun-Hye... Has been dismissed,” she said, sending opponents watching live on television screens into eruptions of joy. “We won, we won,” they chanted, cheering and hugging each other, some breaking down.
Seoul, March 10: Every dog has its day. The phrase fits pretty well into the South Korean corruption drama, which can be traced back to 2012, when Park Geun-hye was elected President. The main stars were former Asian Games goldwinning fencer Ko Youngtae, Ms Park’s confidante Choi Soon-sil and last, but not the least, a dog!
According to the BBC, Mr Ko has been closely linked to Ms Choi with the media labelling him her “toy boy” though he denied any affair with her in front of a parliamentary committee this week.
After quitting fencing, Mr Ko was running a handbag and clothing company called Villomillo. One day, a friend asked him to show some of Villomillo’s latest products to Ms Choi, the BBC reported. Ms Choi liked what she saw, and he began supplying her with items which would end up in Ms Park’s wardrobe.
As Ms Park’s unofficial clothier, Mr Ko also began to enjoy fame and success especially after Ms Park was spotted toting a Villomillo bag in 2013, according to local media reports.
In 2014, Ms Choi asked him to take care of her daughter’s puppy. Mr Ko brought the dog to his house, then left it there as he went out to play a round of golf.
When he returned, he found a furious Ms Choi who blasted him for abandoning the puppy. The two had a “huge fight”, he said.
From then on their relationship went downhill. “She treated me like a slave, swearing at me many times.” A humiliated Mr Ko decided to exact revenge by going to the press about Ms Choi and Ms Park’s relationship. He collected evidence of Ms Choi’s power over Ms Park’s administration, including CCTV footage of Ms Choi treating presidential aides as her personal servants, the BBC reported. He eventually turned them over to a local broadcaster. In October, he did a TV interview where he alleged Ms Choi’s “favourite thing” was to edit Ms Park’s presidential speeches.
Reporters went digging