SKorean court wants more from impeached President Park

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

South Korea’s Constitutional Court is getting tougher on impeached President Park Geun-hye, as it loses time within its six-month window to decide whether to confirm or overturn last month’s parliamentary vote to oust the scandal-hit leader.

Tuesday’s third hearing of Park’s trial was dominated by the accusation that she has failed to clear up wild allegations about her actions during seven hours on the day of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, which claimed 304 lives.

Additionally linked to a wide-ranging corruption scandal involving business leaders and presidential aides, Park was absent as she has been throughout the legal proceedings so far -- she also refused to meet state prosecutors after they named her as a suspect last year.

Seoul’s presidential office along with Park’s lawyers have repeatedly stated that she did what she could to oversee the ultimately botched attempt to save passengers -- mostly high school students -- from the sinking Sewol.

With the issue becoming even more prominent in the wake of Monday marking 1,000 days since the tragedy, the court had asked for a personal account of April 16, 2014 from Park.

Her legal team did hand in a 15-page document, with lawyer Lee Joong-hwan offering reporters the concise summary that “she took appropriate steps.”

The longer version, according to local news agency Yonhap, explained details of phone calls made and updates received by the president from her residence as she was feeling unwell.

“However, as [Park's] representatives, even if there were inadequacies in her response, we think there is much room for debate on whether this constitutes a reason for impeachment in both factual and legal terms,” the report stated.

But the court was not satisfied, as explained by justice Lee Jin-sung, and Park’s lawyers will have to revise her account.

“What the Constitutional Court asked for was an explanation of the president's whereabouts based on her own memory,” Lee insisted.

If there was frustration among the court’s nine-judge panel, it would have been all the more understandable because the three witnesses called to appear failed to do so -- including two of Park’s closest aides and a now notorious private confidante, Choo Soon-sil.

The trial is set to continue next week.