Under-fire SKorea leader to maintain appearances abroad

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

South Korea's presidential office insisted Friday that Park Geun-hye will attend a trilateral leaders' summit in Japan next month, in the process confirming she has no plans to step down over an ongoing scandal.

Park is to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in a gathering in December aimed at strengthening often frayed ties.

"The schedule for the summit has yet to be finalized, but I understand [Park] will attend [the summit] if the schedule is fixed," presidential spokesperson Jung Youn-kuk was quoted as saying by local news agency Yonhap.

It would represent a return to a sense of normality for the embattled South Korean president, who is breaking with convention by missing the weekend's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.

Prosecutors were hoping to question Park this week over a private confidante's alleged abuse of power for personal gain.

While the president's attorney has been adamant the questioning should take place next week instead, investigators are reportedly mulling whether to shift Park's status from being a witness to a suspect.

Seoul is set to stage another mass protest demanding the president's resignation Saturday evening -- her Gallup Korea approval rating remained at a record-low five percent Friday for a third straight week.