South Korea’s Political Storm Swirls Ahead of Park Impeachment Ruling

South Korea’s Political Storm Swirls Ahead of Park Impeachment Ruling
South Korean lawmakers and members of opposition parties hold signs reading, "President Park Geun-hye, Impeachment!," during a rally at the National Assembly, Seoul, Dec. 7, 2016 (AP photo by Ahn Young-joon).

South Korea’s Constitutional Court must rule by June on whether to uphold the impeachment of beleaguered President Park Geun-hye. South Korea has been embroiled in scandal for months over Park’s alleged collusion with an unsanctioned adviser, her controversial friend Choi Soon-sil.

If the court backs the National Assembly’s vote in December to impeach Park, who was accused of bribery, extortion and abuse of power, South Korea will have to hold an election within 60 days of the ruling. Most analysts and legal experts in Seoul have indicated that the court will likely decide to remove Park from office, potentially as early as this month, triggering the next stage in South Korea’s political saga.

Even before the impeachment last year, opposition parties were jostling for ways to cast the disgraced leader as a symbol of the years of failed and corrupt conservative politics under the ruling Saenuri Party. The upheaval has resulted in a number of stunning developments in the political scene.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review