The past year brought the world quite a few crazy moments in the political arena, but few are as outrageous as the political scandal that is affecting South Korea.
President Park Geun-hye, the nation’s first female president, was accused of corruption, abuse of authority, and improperly allowing nongovernment personnel access to secret government documents. At the center of the issue is Park’s longtime friendship with Choi Soon-sil. According to Korean news, Choi, the daughter of an enigmatic church leader, has been accused of using her relationship with Park in order to enrich herself and gain advantages for her family. The Washington Post reported that “Choi has been indicted on charges including abuse of power and extortion and is currently in detention.”
According to CNN’s James Griffiths, on December 9th, “lawmakers…voted to impeach Park by a vote of 234 to 56, stripping away her executive powers. A court will now decide whether she should be kicked out of office, a process that could take up to 180 days.”
The accusations facing Park Geun-hye include using her influence to help enrich Choi Soon-Sil, leaking confidential government documents, and violating the Korean Constitution in multiple ways in order to support Choi Soon-Sil. Park Geun-hye also supposedly violated the Constitution by failing to provide a full account of her actions on April 16, 2014, the day that a Korean ferry sank and killed over 300 people.