South Korea has been plunged into a period of political uncertainty after the President, Park Geun-hye, was forced out of office by a corruption scandal.
The country’s Constitutional Court upheld a parliamentary vote to impeach Park over allegations of corruption and cronyism. She becomes the country’s first democratically elected leader to be forcibly removed.
Two died amid chaotic scenes in the capital, Seoul. Thousands demonstrated after the unanimous decision by eight judges was read out down in a live broadcast that gripped the nation.
The decision brings the career of South Korea’s first female president to an inglorious end. It also comes at a pivotal moment for the region, as North Korea ramps up its nuclear weapons testing program.
Here are the main developments:
The acting president called for unity amid political uncertainty.
Stripped of her immunity, Park is liable to prosecution.
A snap presidential election will be held within 60 days.
The turmoil comes as tensions rise with North Korea and China.
The scandal has also entangled the acting head of Samsung.
What happened?
Park was brought down by a corruption scandal that has dominated South Korean politics for months.
The President was accused of being unduly influenced by her longtime friend and adviser, Choi Soon-sil, who is on trial for abuse of power and fraud. Local media and opposition parties accused Choi of abusing her relationship with the President to force companies to donate millions of dollars to foundations she set up. She denies all charges against her.
The Constitutional Court on Friday upheld the impeachment, ruling that Park abused her authority in helping Choi raise donations from companies.
“We announce the decision as the unanimous opinion of all judges. We dismiss the defendant President Park,” said Justice Lee Jung-mi.
An election for Park’s replacement must be held within 60 days, and an ad-hoc cabinet meeting will be held soon, a government official told CNN.
With Park’s ruling conservatives looking out of favor, it seems likely the country will turn to the left-wing opposition, which has signaled it would be likely to pursue a policy of engagement with the North. A left-wing government would also place into question the continued deployment in South Korea of a US missile defense system, which is bitterly opposed by China.
Chaos on the streets
Soon after the court’s ruling, acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn made a call for unity.
“We all need to respect the decision of the Constitutional Court. There will be people who cannot accept this and find it hard to submit to this, but now is the time to accept and end the conflict and opposition.”
But as the decision was made, a group of around 100 Park supporters tried to break through police lines near the court, and a number fell and were injured.
“We lost our liberty. We lost our Korea,” one protestor told CNN.
“We cannot understand impeachment for our president,” another said. “She is still our president, tomorrow she will be our president.”
Anti-Park demonstrators also took the streets, some crying tears of joy and pumping fists in celebration, as applause rang out from the crowd. Many had camped out in the streets overnight in the cold.
Fall from grace
In December, lawmakers voted to impeach Park by a vote of 234 to 56, stripping away her executive powers. Since then she has remained in the presidential palace, known as the Blue House, but has remained largely out of public view.
The ruling means Park loses the protection from prosecution she enjoyed as president. She could now face a formal investigation.
Park will not leave the Blue House immediately, a spokesman told CNN.
Electronics giant Samsung has also been embroiled in the case. Prosecutors allege that the company’s acting head, Lee Jae-yong, pledged tens of millions of dollars to win favor with Park and secure government support for a merger that helped tighten his grip on on the company. He is on trial for charges of bribery and corruption, which he denies.
Liberal candidate Moon Jae-in from the opposition Democratic United Party is currently leading in opinion polls. Moon was defeated narrowly by Park in 2012.
Moon was the chief of staff to former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and a strong proponent of the “Sunshine Policy”, which attempted to improve relations between the two Koreas from 1998 to 2008.
Reaction
South Korea’s political stability is crucial to the security of the region — it is a key buttress against North Korea, its provocative neighbor, and a major trading partner with the US and its Asian neighbors.
The US moved quickly to issue a reassuring statement, saying the two countries’ relationship would be unaffected.
“We will continue to work with Prime Minister Hwang for the remainder of his tenure as acting President, and we look forward to a productive relationship with whomever the people of South Korea elect to be their next president,” acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
“The US-ROK alliance will continue to be a linchpin of regional stability and security, and we will continue to meet all our alliance commitments, especially with respect to defending against the threat from North Korea,” Toner added, using an acronym for South Korea.
North Korea’s official news agency noted that Park had lost her immunity, reporting that she would be investigated as a “common criminal.”
Hwang, who will remain in power until the election, has instructed all military personnel to be on alert and to increase security,.
Police had issued the highest level of emergency order possible in Seoul ahead of the announcement. About 21,000 officers are on standby for expected protests, with 270 units being mobilized.