December 08, 2016•Update: December 08, 2016
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
Weeks of political wrangling over South Korea’s power abuse scandal have reached a crucial moment, as President Park Geun-hye is set to face an impeachment vote after the opposition bloc officially triggered a 24-hour countdown at a plenary session Thursday.
The country’s three liberal parties delayed the vote last week due to concerns it might not achieve the required two-thirds parliamentary majority.
Opposition lawmakers are now so emboldened by public support they have vowed to resign en masse if the secret ballot from 2 p.m. (0500GMT) Friday afternoon falls short.
“Nothing will be able to derail our dash toward impeachment,” People’s Party interim chief Park Ji-won declared, while Democratic Party floor leader Woo Sang-ho spoke of their “unwavering determination”.
Public pressure is very much against the president, who has endured record-low unpopularity based on single-digit approval ratings and vast protests demanding her immediate resignation.
But the ruling party holds the key to what happens next because the opposition bloc needs nearly 30 conservative votes to go their way.
Although enough rebel lawmakers identify with the ruling camp’s anti-Park faction, there has been a dispute about the motion’s inclusion of the government’s response to the 2014 Sewol ferry tragedy -- the disaster, which claimed 304 lives, has been a hugely divisive political issue.
“It is still not too late to stop the impeachment, and have Park step down in April and hold the presidential election in June,” the ruling Saenuri Party’s pro-Park chief Lee Jung-hyun insisted -- as more time would suit a ruling camp that has been dragged down in polls along with the president.
If the impeachment motion passes, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn would temporarily take power while the Constitutional Court would have 180 days to decide whether to oust Park and prompt a snap election.
The president has already approved an independent investigation aimed at uncovering the truth behind swirling allegations -- Park herself has been accused of being complicit in a scam to force corporate donations and allowing a secret confidante to wield power over state affairs.
South Korea has until now only seen one presidential impeachment case, a failed attempt in 2004 to oust the late Roh Moo-hyun on the charge of illegal electioneering.
Park’s unpopularity is one of the significant differences compared with that precedent -- another key factor being the scale of the allegations being thrown at the current president on a daily basis by local media outlets.
