South Koreans celebrate President Park’s ouster

Impeached leader remains silent

SEOUL, South Korea — A day after a court removed her from power over a corruption scandal, ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye maintained her silence on Saturday as her opponents and supporters divided the capital’s streets with massive rallies that showed a nation deeply split over its future.

Park hasn’t been seen or heard from since the Constitutional Court’s ruling on Friday, which ended a power struggle that had consumed the nation for months. Park, whose fate was left in the court’s hands after her parliamentary impeachment in December, has yet to vacate the presidential Blue House, with her aides saying they need more time to prepare for her return to her private home in Seoul.

Carrying flags and candles and cheering jubilantly, tens of thousands of people occupied a boulevard in downtown Seoul to celebrate Park’s ouster. Meanwhile, in a nearby grass square, a large crowd of Park’s supporters glumly waved national flags near a stage where organizers, wearing red caps and military uniforms, vowed to resist what they called a “political assassination.”

Police had braced for violence between the two crowds after three people died and dozens were injured in clashes between police and Park’s supporters after the ruling on Friday. Nearly 20,000 police officers were deployed on Saturday to monitor the protesters, who were also separated by tight perimeters created by hundreds of police buses.

The anti-Park protesters shouted “The candles have won!” and “Arrest Park Geun-hye!” as they began marching toward the Blue House. The protesters, who held candles during their massive evening demonstrations in recent months, loosely call themselves the Candle Force.

The court’s decision capped a stunning fall for the country’s first female leader. Park rode a wave of lingering conservative nostalgia for her late dictator father to victory in 2012, only to see her presidency crumble as millions of protesters filled the streets.

While the ruling might have irrevocably derailed Park’s political career, analysts saw defiance in her silence.

AHN YOUNG-JOON/ASSOCIATED PRESS Protesters hold up cards during a rally for impeached President Park Geun-hye’s arrest in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday. The signs read “Park Geun-hye’s arrest.”