Park Geun-hye dealt severe blow to authority as she withdraws her nominee for prime minister and agrees to give up control of cabinet amid cronyism scandal

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The cronyism crisis engulfing the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, has deepened after she bowed to demands to withdraw her nominee for prime minister and install a candidate chosen by the opposition instead.



Prosecutors have also raided the headquarters of Samsung Electronics as part of the investigation into Park’s close friend Choi Soon-sil, whose undue influence over the president has triggered the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

South Korea scandal explained: six key points on the cronyism claims engulfing the president Read more

Choi has been charged with abuse of power and fraud, and a former aide to Park has been charged with abuse of power and extortion. They are suspected of coercing dozens of South Korea’s biggest companies, including Samsung, into donating 77.4bn won (US$68m) for sports and cultural foundations run by Choi.

Choi, the daughter of the founder of a Christian cult, is also suspected of using her ties to Park to meddle in state affairs, including the selection of senior officials and policy towards North Korea.

The scandal has been dubbed “Choi-gate” by those demanding Park’s resignation.

Park had hoped that her decision last week to nominate as prime minister a liberal candidate from outside of the governing Saenuri party would defuse the scandal that has threatened to overwhelm her presidency since reports emerged in October about Choi’s influence at the heart of the government.

But opposition parties, which together control the national assembly, immediately rejected the move, saying they had not been consulted. They must now agree on their own choice of prime minister who, according to Park, will be given control of the cabinet, even though South Korean prime ministers traditionally play a largely titular role.

“If parliament recommends a good person with an agreement between the ruling and opposition parties, I will appoint that person as prime minister and allow him to essentially take control over the cabinet,” Park told the speaker, Chung Sye-kyun, according to the official transcript of their 10-minute meeting.

Chung said: “The crisis facing the president is a crisis in state governance and a crisis of the nation as a whole, and people are very worried. Therefore, what is most important is placating public concerns.

“If the national assembly recommends a nominee, you must appoint him and grant him authority and ensure there will be no disputes in the future about his authority.”

Park had nominated Kim Byong-joon, a former senior adviser to the liberal ex-president, Roh Moo-hyun, drawing criticism that she was attempting to divert attention from her role in the scandal.



Park’s two public apologies have failed to prevent a collapse in her approval ratings, with a recent Gallup poll showing support for the president at just 5%. Tens of thousands of demonstrators have called for her resignation.

Some analysts believe that she will limp through the remaining 15 months of her presidency, albeit with her authority severely diminished and her reputation in tatters.

South Korean presidents serve only a single term and none have failed to make it through their full five years in the Blue House.

Lee Nae-young, a political science professor at Korea University, said Park’s concession to the opposition parties was a “last-ditch effort” to prevent the crisis from destroying her presidency.

“It’s still not exactly clear to what extent she will end up devolving some of her powers, and that is going to take some consultations with the political parties,” Lee said. “The real problem is that a lot of people feel she has lost her moral authority to rule as president.”

Samsung, which is still reeling from the global halt in production of its troubled Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, was searched over allegations that it had improperly offered financial help to Choi’s daughter.

The Yonhap news agency said Samsung – the country’s biggest and most valuable company – allegedly provided up to €2.8m ($US3.1m) to a firm Choi had set up in Germany to fund her daughter’s equestrian training.

Park Sang-jin, a senior executive at Samsung, is also head of the Korea Equestrian Federation. South Korean media said his office and the federation’s headquarters were among the premises raided on Tuesday.

• This piece was amended on 9 November to clarify Park had nominated Kim