The president must leave office after the constitutional court backed her impeachment. But what does it mean for the country – and an unstable region?

Why was Park Geun-hye removed?

Park, who took office in 2013, is the most prominent figure in a wide-ranging corruption and cronyism scandal that has gripped South Korea since last autumn. She and her longtime confidante, Choi Soon-sil, are accused of conspiring to pressure companies to donate large sums to two nonprofit foundations Choi set up. Samsung, by far the country’s most famous company, is among those that donated close to US$70m.

South Korean president Park Geun-hye forced from office by constitutional court Read more

Park’s presidential powers were suspended in December after parliament’s impeachment vote, which the constitutional court on Friday made the unanimous decision to uphold.

Park admitted behaving “naively” in her relationship with Choi, but denies coercing companies. She has also denied claims that she granted her friend, who does not have security clearance, unlawful access to state affairs, and allowed her to influence policy, including Seoul’s stance on North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.

The court thought differently: “Park concealed completely Choi’s meddling in state affairs and denied it whenever suspicions over the act emerged and even criticised those who raised the suspicions,” it said in its ruling.

What happens next in South Korea?

South Korea must elect a new president within 60 days at a time of widespread anger at the state of the economy, and the influence wielded by its political and industrial elites. The consensus among local media is that voters will elect her successor on 9 May.

South Korea’s prime minister, Hwang Kyo-ahn, who was appointed acting president after the national assembly’s impeachment vote, will continue in that role until the election.

Millions of anti-Park voters will be hoping that the scandal acts as a catalyst for sweeping domestic reforms to rein in the political influence of the chaebol, South Korea’s family-run conglomerates. The acting head of Samsung is already on trial in connection with donations the firm made to Choi’s foundations, but there are mounting calls for other tycoons to face legal action.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Park making an addresses from the presidential Blue House in November 2016. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

And across the region?

Friday’s ruling comes at a time of increasing tension on the Korean peninsula and in the wider Asia-Pacific region. Park took a hard line against North Korea’s nuclear programme, in contrast to some of her predecessors who believed engagement was the only way to persuade Pyongyang.

Park succeeded in forging closer ties with China, but relations soured after South Korea agreed to deploy a US missile defence system intended to counter the growing threat from the North. Beijing says the Thaad system represents a threat to its own security and has called for it to be cancelled.

The veteran liberal politician Moon Jae-in is potentially the greatest beneficiary of current public anger towards Park and her ruling Saenuri party. Moon, who has a comfortable lead in the race to succeed Park, has called for the missile defence system to be “reconsidered”, and would be expected to seek dialogue with Pyongyang.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A picture released by North Korea’s KCNA news agency shows the launch of four ballistic missiles. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images

A Moon presidency could come too late to repair relations with Beijing: officials in Washington and Seoul say Thaad could be up and running as early as next month.

Whoever wins the election, the priority will be to bring a semblance of stability to South Korean politics and begin the difficult task of uniting a country that has become bitterly divided by the scandal.

What next for Park Geun-hye?

Aside from ending her presidency just under a year before her five-year term was due to expire in February 2018, the court’s ruling means Park loses the immunity to criminal indictment. Now she is no longer in power, prosecutors can summon, question and possibly arrest her. She now has a nervous wait to discover whether she will face criminal proceedings.



Park has not commented on the ruling, but would not be moving out of the presidential Blue House immediately, her spokesman said. She will wait until her private home has been prepared for her arrival.



How are South Koreans reacting?

While Park’s conservative supporters clashed with police outside the court, millions of people have taken to the streets in several cities since last year, calling for her impeachment.

Pro-Park rallies have been smaller and mainly involving older voters who recall with nostalgia her dictator father’s role in encouraging South Korea’s transformation into an Asian economic powerhouse.

But given the strength of public opinion and the seriousness of the accusations levelled against Park, a decision to reinstate her could have caused public unrest, with some anti-Park demonstrators threatening to start a “revolution”.



