South Koreans demand arrest of scandal-hit president
Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans have rallied in Seoul for the sixth straight week to demand the resignation and arrest of President Park Geun-hye.
The huge gathering on Saturday came just hours after opposition parties filed an impeachment motion against the president who is mired in a scandal over abuse of power.
The 64-year-old stands accused of colluding with an old friend who has been formally indicted for attempted fraud and abuse of power.
Up to 171 opposition and independent lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament filed an impeachment motion which is due to be voted in the National Assembly next Friday.
Park is about to become the first democratically-elected South Korean president not to complete a full, five-year term whether the motion is adopted or not.
Anti-Park lawmakers in the ruling party have vowed to vote for her impeachment if she fails to announce by Wednesday that she will voluntarily resign next April, allowing a presidential election to be held in June, six months ahead of schedule.
Protesters who have taken to the streets in their millions in recent weeks want her out immediately, but the political establishment is struggling to find a similar unity of purpose.
The corruption scandal surrounding Park's administration is centered on a long-time confidante of hers, Choi Soon-sil, who has been described as "Korea's female Rasputin."
Korean prosecutors say they have evidence that Park colluded in Choi's efforts to intimidate firms into "donating" tens of millions of dollars to two dubious foundations she controlled.
The president has been named as a formal suspect in the corruption probe, making her the first sitting head of state to face a criminal probe while in office.
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