A supporter of ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye holds her portrait in front of her private home in Seoul on March 15, 2017. (Ahn Young-Joon/AP)

South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday summoned former president Park Geun-hye for questioning over the huge corruption scandal that led to her being impeached from office last week.

Park, who had refused to be questioned while in office, no longer has immunity from prosecution and will “actively” cooperate with the investigation, her lawyer said.

Separately, the South Korean government also announced that an election to replace Park would be held May 9. But Hwang Kyo-ahn, the prime minister who is now the acting president, dashed conservatives’ hopes when he said he would not run for the presidency.

“To stabilize state affairs and fairly administer the presidential election, I’ve reached the judgment that it is inappropriate for me to run in the election,” Hwang said during a cabinet meeting Wednesday. “From now onwards, I would like to focus on the tremendous responsibility as the acting president.”

Moon Jae-in, a progressive from the main opposition Democratic Party, has a strong lead in the polls, but Hwang had been scoring second — although still a long way behind Moon.

(Jason Aldag,Anna Fifield,Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)

Hwang became the obvious candidate for conservatives after Ban Ki-moon, the former U.N. secretary general, pulled out of the running. Conservatives now have no clear contender to challenge Moon.

[ South Korean president removed from office over corruption scandal ]

The impeachment of Park on Friday was the first time a president has been dismissed from office since democracy was instituted in South Korea three decades ago. Her removal will help bring an end to the political vacuum the country has experienced for the past three months.

But the criminal investigation will continue and could yield more explosive details about corruption at the top levels of government and business.

The Constitutional Court on Friday found that Park had “continuously” violated the law and the constitution. The court concluded that as president, Park had helped her friend Choi Soon-sil extract bribes from South Korean conglomerates, leaked confidential documents to Choi and then lied to cover up her wrongdoing.

The justices also upbraided Park for refusing to answer questions about the case. Park had rejected special prosecutors’ requests that she answer questions about her role, and she declined to appear before the Constitutional Court.

Even after her impeachment, she remains defiant.

1 of 31 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × See activists react to the ousting of South Korea’s president View Photos Park Geun-hye has been removed from office, and the nation will need to hold a presidential election within 60 days. Caption Park Geun-hye has been removed from office, and the nation will need to hold a presidential election within 60 days. March 11, 2017 Protesters hold up placards during a rally in Seoul calling for impeached President Park Geun-hye’s arrest. South Korean police braced for more violence between opponents and supporters of the ousted president, who was stripped of her powers by the Constitutional Court over a corruption scandal that has plunged the country into a political turmoil. Ahn Young-Joon/AP Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.

“I feel sorry that I could not finish the mandate given to me as president,” a spokesman for Park quoted her as saying Sunday night, when she left the presidential Blue House and returned to her private home — some 56 hours after being dismissed. “It will take time, but I believe the truth will be revealed,” Park added, according to the spokesman.

[ South Korean prosecutors say president colluded in corruption ]

Prosecutors said they have summoned her to be questioned next Tuesday. Son Bum-kyu, a lawyer for Park, confirmed that her lawyers had received the summons. “We will fully cooperate with the investigation,” he told reporters.



Prosecutors have recommended 13 charges against Park, including bribery and abuse of power.



They allege that Park’s friend Choi planned to take $37 million in bribes from Samsung in return for favorable treatment for the country’s largest conglomerate. Prosecutors say that Park knew of the plan.

Choi is on trial on charges of bribery and extortion, as is Lee Jae-yong, the de facto head of Samsung. Lee, who has been effectively running the huge conglomerate since his father, Lee Kun-hee, was hospitalized almost three years ago, is facing charges including bribery, embezzlement, perjury and violating the law on transferring assets overseas.

Both Choi and Lee strongly deny any wrongdoing.

Read more:

Samsung scion to be indicted on bribery charges

Presidential scandal shows that ‘Korean disease’ of corruption is far from cured

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