Movement for the resignation of President Park Geun-hye

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Protest in Seoul on January 7, 2017

Since October 26, 2016, there have been protests in South Korea through the movement for the resignation of President Park Geun-hye , the country's incumbent head of state. The protest reached its first climax on October 29, 2016, when thousands of Koreans demonstrated against widespread corruption and the irresponsible attitude of their president . On November 12, around a million people took part in the street protests.

prehistory

From July 2016, there were numerous protests over 80 days against the president of the university, Choi Kyung-hee , at Ewha Womans University . In the course of the protests, Choi Kyung-hee was investigated and his relationship with Choi Soon-sil became apparent. So Choi Soon-sil's daughter, Chung Yu-ra, was admitted even though she did not meet the university's requirements. It was already known that Choi Soon-sil was the daughter of Park Geun-hye's mentor, Choi Tae-min . As a result, Choi Kyung-hee resigned and the relationship between Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil came into the public eye. Choi Soon-sil is under investigation for allegedly using her relationship with President Park Geun-hye to extort money from large companies, including Samsung and Hyundai . She also had access to Park's speeches and is said to have revised them. The TV station jTBC has also found a tablet computer that is said to belong to Choi and which is said to contain secret government documents. Choi denies that it is her tablet. However, prosecutors concluded that it should actually be Choi's tablet. In the Korean and Anglo-Saxon media, the political scandal that caused the protests is referred to as the Choi Soon-sil gate .

course

In mid-October 2016, the close contact between President Park and the political outsider Choi Soon-sil expanded into a public scandal. Choi Soon-sil is the daughter of the shamanistic clergyman Choi Tae-min, who died in 1994 . The relationship of trust between the women was described as intense and earned Choi the nickname “female Rasputin ”. For political observers and state investigative agencies, it was natural that she arbitrarily influenced the president's business. Participation in this form violates both the principle of democratic legitimation in the South Korean constitution and various regulations for safeguarding state secrets . In late October, prosecutors searched offices and homes that they linked to Choi.

Media reports about the connection between Park and Choi sparked mass protests at the same time, especially near the Blue House in the South Korean capital Seoul . On November 1, a protester attempted to break into the chief prosecutor's office building with an excavator . On the same day, Choi Soon-sil was arrested in Seoul. In the two weeks after the protests began, President Park twice apologized publicly for the mistake of tolerating Choi so close to her, but the demonstrations against her subsequently became more popular. The political opposition used the president's weakness to prevent the appointment of a head of government favored by Park . Like the protesters on the street, opposition politicians also called for the president to resign.

Some leaders of the opposition parties took part in the protests, including Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and the candidates from the previous presidential election , Ahn Cheol-soo and Moon Jae-in . After the demonstrations on November 12, in which more than a million people (260,000 according to police) took part, a spokeswoman for the president said she was taking the protests very seriously.

A survey by Real Meter on November 17 showed that 73.9% of the population believe Park should step down or be removed.

On November 19, around 600,000 people demonstrated in Seoul . Demonstrations took place in other cities, which is why the police assumed that fewer people would demonstrate than before in Seoul. Nationwide (including Seoul) the number of participants is estimated at one million. After the university entrance examination (수능 Suneung ) took place on Thursday , many high school students also took part in the protests.

1.9 million people attended the demonstration on November 26th, 1.5 million of whom were in Seoul. The protests against Park have also brought renewed criticism of the “history book controversy”.

An interview with Parks was planned by the prosecution. However, it was announced on November 28th that Park no longer wanted to answer the prosecutor's questions because Park was alleged to be an accomplice of Choi. Instead, Park would like to await an independent investigation.

On November 29th, Park gave a speech in which she said she would not resign. Instead, she wants to let parliament decide. She apologized and said that she always acted in good faith. Shortly after the speech, rumors and plans about an early presidential election in 2017 surfaced again .

On December 3, 2.3 million people demonstrated against Park Geun-hye.

On December 9, impeachment proceedings against Park were initiated by the parliament ( gukhoe ). What was needed was a two-thirds majority among the 300 members of parliament, 128 of whom belonged to Parks Saenuri's party . The vote ended with a result of 234 to 56.

On Saturday, December 17th, 770,000 people again demonstrated in Seoul to persuade Park Geun-hye to resign. On December 24th there were about 700,000. On the night of New Year , 1.1 million people demonstrated again across the country.

Trivia

  • The South Korean media often speak of 촛불 집회 Chotbul Jipoe , 'Candlelight demonstration' (candle demonstrations, also candlestick demonstrations, similar to a vigil ), because the demonstrators were carrying candlelights .
  • On behalf of all participants, the organizing committee of the candle demonstrations will be honored with the human rights award of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in December 2017 .

Web links

Commons : Movement for the resignation of President Park Geun-hye  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jack Kim: Thousands protest in South Korea, demand president quit over scandal. In: Reuter . October 29, 2016, accessed November 14, 2016 .
  2. ^ South Korea: thousands of protesters call for president to resign. In: The Guardian . October 29, 2016, accessed November 14, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Choi Ha-young, Kim Bo-eun: ONE MILLION protesters storm Seoul's streets, demanding Park's resignation. In: The Korea Times . November 12, 2016, accessed November 12, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Choi Kyongae: (LEAD) Cheong Wa Dae says will take massive anti-gov't rally seriously. In: Yonhap . November 13, 2016, accessed November 13, 2016 .
  5. ^ Ock Hyun-ju: What drove Ewha students to streets? In: The Korea Herald . August 12, 2016, accessed November 13, 2016 .
  6. ^ Students take action against arising suspicion on illicit admission. In: Ewha Voice. October 17, 2016, accessed November 13, 2016 .
  7. ^ Yu Gil-yong, Hong Sang-ji, Esther Chung: Professors join Ewha protest movement. Professors join Ewha protest movement Admission of girl linked to president adds to protests. In: JoongAng Daily . October 18, 2016, accessed November 13, 2016 .
  8. ^ Ock Hyun-ju: Ewha president quits amid scandals. In: The Korea Herald . October 19, 2016, accessed November 13, 2016 .
  9. ↑ a b c Choi scandal explained. In: The Korea Herald . November 2, 2016, accessed November 12, 2016 .
  10. ↑ Investigators search Samsung offices. In: Zeit Online . November 8, 2016, accessed November 14, 2016 .
  11. ↑ Kim Se-jeong: 'It's Choi Soon-sil's tablet'. In: The Korea Times . November 4, 2016, accessed November 26, 2016 .
  12. ↑ Yoon Ja-young: Effect of Choi Soon-sil gate on course limited. In: The Korea Times . October 27, 2016, accessed November 13, 2016 .
  13. ↑ Lim Yun Suk: South Korea's president accused of leaking classified documents. In: Channel NewsAsia . October 26, 2016, accessed November 12, 2016 .
  14. ^ Affair in South Korea: Confidante arrested by President Park. In: FAZ.net . November 1, 2016, accessed November 12, 2016 .
  15. ↑ Park gives in to pressure from the opposition. In: FR Online . November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016 .
  16. ↑ Kim Hyo-jin: Two heavyweights agree to oust Park. In: The Korea Times . November 9, 2016, accessed November 13, 2016 .
  17. ↑ Choi Seung-hyun: Ahn Cheol-soo Gathers Signatures to Oust Park. In: Chosun Ilbo . November 11, 2016, accessed November 13, 2016 .
  18. ↑ Moon Voices to Join Rallying Citizens to the End. In: KBS World . November 11, 2016, accessed November 13, 2016 .
  19. ↑ a b 'Park takes voices from anti-president rally seriously'. In: The Korea Times . November 13, 2016, accessed November 13, 2016 .
  20. ↑ Kim Jin-cheol: Poll: 74% of South Koreans say Pres. Park should resign or be impeached. In: The Hankyoreh . November 18, 2016, accessed November 19, 2016 .
  21. ^ A b Park Si-soo: Anti-Park protests flare up across the country; 600,000 people gathered in Seoul. In: The Korea Times . November 19, 2016, accessed November 19, 2016 .
  22. ↑ Korea Braces for Massive Protests on Saturday. In: Chosun Ilbo . November 18, 2016, accessed November 19, 2016 .
  23. ↑ Kim Ji-hoon, Bang Jun-ho & Park Su-ji: Dreaming of a new world, one million candles again burn nationwide. In: The Hankyoreh . November 20, 2016, accessed November 20, 2016 .
  24. ↑ High schoolers join protests against Park. In: The Korea Herald . November 19, 2016, accessed November 19, 2016 .
  25. ↑ Bae Hyun-jung: 2 million expected to rally against Park. In: The Korea Herald . November 25, 2016, accessed November 25, 2016 .
  26. ↑ Kang Jin-kyu: Vigil's hit record of 1.9 million. In: JoongAng Daily . November 28, 2016, accessed November 28, 2016 .
  27. ^ Education Officials Vow to Resist Gov't History Textbooks. In: Chosun Ilbo . November 25, 2016, accessed November 25, 2016 .
  28. ↑ Kim Nam-il: Pres. Park's status changes from witness to de facto suspect. In: The Hankyoreh . November 19, 2016, accessed November 19, 2016 .
  29. ↑ Bae Hyun-jung: Park will not face prosecution's probe. In: The Korea Herald . November 28, 2016, accessed November 28, 2016 .
  30. ↑ Bae Hyun-jung: Park calls on parliament to decide her resignation. In: The Korea Herald . November 29, 2016, accessed November 29, 2016 .
  31. ^ Full script of Park's national address. In: The Korea Herald . November 29, 2016, accessed November 29, 2016 .
  32. ↑ Shin Hyon-hee: Early election becoming reality. In: The Korea Herald . November 29, 2016, accessed November 29, 2016 .
  33. ↑ [LIVE] Record 2.3 MILLION people join the sixth mass anti-Park rally. In: The Korea Times . Retrieved December 3, 2016 .
  34. ↑ Yeo Jun-suk: Opposition not sure of impeachment motion passage. In: The Korea Herald . November 28, 2016, accessed November 29, 2016 .
  35. ↑ Parliament votes to impeach Park: 234 for, 56 against. In: The Korea Herald . December 9, 2016, accessed December 9, 2016 .
  36. ↑ Park Si-soo: 770,000 storm Seoul streets in 8th anti-president rally. In: The Korea Times . December 18, 2016, accessed December 17, 2016 .
  37. ↑ Kang Ki-heon, Lee Eun-ji, Choi Woo-seok: At rally, all the protesters wanted for Christmas was ... impeachment. In: JoongAng Daily . December 26, 2016, accessed December 25, 2016 .
  38. ^ Sung Ho-jun, Song Bong-geon & Gong Jeong-sik: New year brings hope for justice and growth. In: Korea JoongAng Daily . January 2, 2017, accessed January 1, 2017 .