News / Koreas

South Korea parliament to appoint special prosecutor to investigate president

Thursday, 17 November 2016 4:55 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 17 November 2016 6:07 PM ]

South Koreans protest against President Park Geun-Hye in Seoul on November 12, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament has passed a bill giving permission to a special prosecutor to investigate corruption scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye.

The bill, which was approved by 196 votes in the 300-seat National Assembly on Thursday, had been proposed by the main opposition Democratic Party.

“We would like to propose this bill to resolve the public suspicion by appointing and allowing a special prosecutor to thoroughly find the truth through a strict investigation into allegations that civilians including Choi Soon-sil meddled in state affairs,” said the document.

The embattled president stands accused of allowing her secretive confidante, Choi, to manipulate power from the shadows.

Choi, who had no official post in Park’s government, faces charges of using her close links to the president as a means of influence to extort millions of dollars from major corporations for private use.

The allegations have rattled Park’s administration, triggering calls for the leader to resign or face impeachment.

Choi Soon-sil (L), the woman at the heart of a political scandal engulfing South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye, is escorted following her formal arrest, in Seoul on November 3, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

The parliamentary vote comes as state prosecutors prepare to indict Choi in a separate investigation process.

Prosecutors wanted to question Park over the extortion scandal this week, but her legal team sought more time.

“I will do my best to prepare my arguments as quickly as I can and cooperate so that the investigation of the president can happen next week,” Park’s lawyer, Yoo Yeong-ha, announced in a statement on Thursday.

An independent investigation would increase the pressure on Park amid growing public outrage and massive protest rallies demanding her resignation.

However, Park has dismissed calls for her resignation despite facing the worst crisis of her tenure.

Instead, the head of state has reshuffled her ministerial cabinet and aides in an attempt to appease the public.

She also offered two formal televised apologies, asking the nation to forgive her.

However, the president’s efforts have been to no avail and the opposition remains steadfast that Park should take her hands off the helm of state affairs and submit to a prosecution investigation.

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