Ousted Park arrives home, expresses defiance
SEOUL: Ousted president Park Geun-hye expressed defiance towards the corruption allegations against her as she vacated the presidential palace and returned to her home yesterday, two days after the Constitutional Court removed her from office.
In her first public comments since the court’s ruling, Park said in a statement: “Although it will take time, I believe the truth will certainly come out.”
Upon her return home, Park was greeted by hundreds of supporters who thunderously chanted her name and waved the South Korean flag as her bodyguard-flanked black sedan slowly rolled into a path near the house.
Park, dressed in a dark blue coat and her hair tied in a bun, smiled and waved from inside the car. She then stepped out and shook hands and exchanged brief words with members of her party before going inside the house.
In her statement, which was read to reporters by Min Kyungwook, a lawmaker from her conservative party and her former spokesman, Park also expressed gratitude to her supporters and apologised for “failing to fulfil my duty as president”.
Youn Kwansuk, the spokesman for the liberal Democratic Party, the largest in Parliament, called Park’s statement “shocking” and “very regrettable” because she did not express remorse.