Park receives flak for defiance
seoul — Ousted South Korean leader Park Geun-Hye was assailed by newspapers and politicians on Monday for her defiance over the court ruling that ended her tenure as president.
Park left Seoul’s presidential complex on Sunday, two days after the Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment by parliament and stripped her of executive power and privileges.
“It will take time but I believe that the truth will eventually be revealed,” she said through a spokesman after arriving at her private home in Seoul — her first remarks since the ruling.
TV footage showed a broadly smiling Park waving to hundreds of supporters who gathered around her home, taking selfies with some
To the last, Park did not say a single word of apology and only talked of the so-called truth in apparent disobedience of the ruling. Choo Mi-Ae, leader of the opposition Democratic Party
as many chanted “Our president forever!”
The conservative Dong-A Ilbo daily, which long supported Park, said in a front-page headline: “To the last... there was no word of acceptance” of the ruling.
Park has been named as an accomplice to the secret confidante at the heart of the corruption and influence-peddling scandal that triggered her dramatic downfall.
The friend, Choi Soon-Sil, is standing trial for using her ties to Park to force local firms to “donate” nearly $70 million to nonprofit foundations Choi allegedly used for personal gain.
A new presidential election must be held by early May, and opposition politicians urged Park’s investigation.
“To the last, Park did not say a single word of apology and only talked of the so-called truth in apparent disobedience of the ruling,” said Choo Mi-Ae, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party (DP). —