06 December 2016•Update: 08 December 2016
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
South Korean President Park Geun-hye will stay “composed” if she is put up for impeachment this week, as she suggested in a meeting with ruling party chiefs Tuesday that she will not quit any time soon over an ongoing power abuse scandal.
A record 2.3 million protesters demanded Park’s immediate resignation when they took to the streets Saturday for a sixth weekend of nationwide rallies.
If two-thirds of the lawmakers at Seoul’s National Assembly move to impeach the president in a vote this Friday, the Constitutional Court would then have to make a final decision.
The country’s only previous impeachment case saw the court take a little more than two months to reject the effort to oust late former President Roh Moo-hyun in 2004.
Park’s talks with ruling Saenuri Party chair Lee Jung-hyun and floor leader Chung Jin-suk came as the conservative camp is on the verge of imploding -- around 40 rebel Saenuri lawmakers are expected to guarantee the votes required for the opposition bloc’s impeachment motion to pass.
Tuesday’s meeting was initially seen as an attempt to come up with an escape plan -- but it now seems Park is prepared to try to prove the innocence that her office has long maintained since she was first accused weeks ago of helping a secret confidante pressure conglomerates to make donations in return for favors.
“If the impeachment motion is passed, I am ready to remain calm and composed for the country and the people,” Park said according to Chung when he addressed reporters at the presidential office.
At the very least, many Saenuri lawmakers will be hoping for a lengthy legal process to scupper the opposition’s hope for a snap election early next year.
The longer the wait, the more chance of a reborn conservative party being able to rebuild around a candidate untouched by the current crisis -- such as outgoing United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is set to return to his home country in January.
Ban had already been tipped as a leading contender for the election originally scheduled next December.
Main opposition Democratic Party spokesperson Youn Kwan-suk bemoaned Park’s persistence in response to Tuesday’s developments.
“If the president cannot decide her fate by herself, the parliament will show the public's will through the impeachment,” Youn said. “All Saenuri lawmakers with a conscience must join the impeachment.”
