Park accused of violating Constitution
Hearing proceeded without impeached leader, who has refused to testify for the second time
The hearing proceeded without Park, who refused to testify for the second time following her no-show on Tuesday. The nine-justice court cannot force Park to appear.
The court had planned to hear testimony from four of Park’s former and current aides suspected of helping Park’s jailed friend, Choi Soon-sil, but only one appeared.
Park has publicly apologized for putting trust in Choi, but denied accusations by state prosecutors that she colluded with her friend in criminal activities.
South Korean lawmakers on Thursday accused President Park Geun-hye of “broadly and gravely” violating the Constitution as the country’s Constitutional Court began hear- ing oral arguments in her impeachment trial.
The allegations were made as Park’s lawyers and lawmakers, who serve as prosecutors in the trial, traded pointed arguments over accusations she colluded with a confidante to extort money and favors from companies and allowed the friend to unlawfully interfere with government affairs.
The chief prosecutor in the trial, lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong, said Park abused her position by “broadly and gravely” violating the Constitution to commit corruption and turn state affairs into a profit tool for her friend.
He said she had to be kicked out of the presidency to repair the damage she had caused to the country.
After Park was impeached in the National Assembly last month, the court has six months to decide if she should permanently step down or be reinstated. If Park is formally removed from office, an election has to be held within 60 days.
Park’s lawyer, Lee Joong-hwan, said the accusations stated in the impeachment bill “lack evidence and fail to make legal sense” because they were based on allegations and media reports, not criminal convictions. Choi Soon-sil,
Legal steps against reporters
Meanwhile, in Denmark, a judge said on Wednesday she is strongly consideringtakinglegalstepsagainst South Korean journalists for violating Danish law by filming inside a courtroom the daughter Choi Soonsil during a detention hearing.
Malene Urup said South Korean reporters filmed and spoke to Chung Yoo-ra on Sunday, hours after her arrest on an international warrant. The interviews eventually were posted on South Korean news media’s websites.
Authorities in Seoul are working to extraditing her in connection with the corruption scandal.
Urup said that reporters were informed in Danish and English “several times” about the ban and asked to delete the videos.