S. Korea ruling party splits over president’s impeachment

SEOUL: South Korea’s ruling conservative party officially split yesterday over the impeachment of scandal-hit President Park GeunHye, threatening to complicate presidential elections that could be held as soon as March.

A group of 29 lawmakers left the ruling Saenuri Party, arguing that its leadership refuses to embrace reforms despite the political crisis fuelled by the corruption scandal that has engulfed Park.

Their departure left the party with 99 seats in the 300- seat National Assembly, relegating it to second place behind the liberal Democratic Party.

In a statement, they accused the ruling party of defending Park, branding her as the ‘worst- ever’ offender against constitutional order.

“Our departure will provide momentum to turn the country’s tragic incident — the impeachment of its president — into chances for the development of democracy”, the dissident group said.

More than 60 Saenuri lawmakers crossed party lines to join opposition parties in passing a motion to impeach Park this month.

The case is now being considered by the constitutional court, which has up to 180 days to rule on the validity of the impeachment that charged Park with multiple criminal and constitutional violations — ranging from bribery to abuse of power.

The next presidential election is slated for Dec 2017, but if justices confirm impeachment, Park will be permanently removed and elections must be held within 60 days — meaning a ballot could be held as early as late March.

The Saenuri Party split could be problematic for one frontrunner — outgoing UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. — AFP