More than two thirds of politicians in the South Korea's National Assembly will on Friday vote to impeach President Park Geun-hye.

Four years ago, South Korea's first female president brought great expectations of increased equality and an emphasis on innovation.

Now, she's widely loathed and her popularity rating has reached a record low of 4 per cent.

Ms Park, who came to power vowing to fight a culture of corruption, is now at the centre of spectacular scandal involving a mysterious woman, Choi Soon-sil, who has allegedly been extorting millions of dollars.

President Park Geun-hye is set to join her Father, military dictator Park Chung-hee, as the only other leader to be removed from office in South Korea. He was assassinated in 1979.

In many ways, the daughter's inglorious end is a consequence of what the father set up.

'The Republic of Samsung'

From 1963 to 1979, Park Chung-hee guided South Korea's rapid industrialisation — by any measure, an incredible success story.

In just two generations, South Korea has risen from the rubble of war to become the 11th biggest economy in the world.

The dictator president Park Chung-hee put the Chaebols or conglomerates, like Samsung and Hyundai at the centre of the economy to drive the growth.

Today Samsung is believed to control a staggering 30 per cent of South Korea's GDP and that power and influence reach deep into politics and the judiciary — so much so that many Koreans to call their country "The Republic of Samsung".

South Korean protesters wearing masks of Park Geun-hye. ( AP: Ahn Young-joon )

The interlocking relationship between government and Chaebols created by Park Geun-hye's father still remain the root cause of the political corruption that has infected every South Korean President in some shape or form since the father was assassinated.

For last two days, that has been on display at the National Assembly. The leaders of the Samsung, LG and Hyundai Motor, and other captains of industry, have been grilled by outraged MPs.

They are accused of involvement in a "cash for favours" scheme, in which they donated about $100 million to two foundations established by the President's confidante Choi Soon-sil.

She has been charged with fraud, bribery and abuse of power for using the money for her own purposes.

Televised live across the nation many of the business tycoons apologised and said they had no choice but to hand over the money.

Hur Chang-soo, head of the Federation of Korean Industries — a business lobby group that is accused of coordinating the donations — said "it's hard to ignore the request from the Government, that's the reality in South Korea".

Samsung stands accused of donating $30 million.

'Shaman fortune-teller' acted as 'shadow president'

Ms Choi has been described as a "Shaman fortune-teller" or "Rasputin-like figure" by the political opposition and South Korean media.

It is alleged she has acted like a "shadow president" and influenced Park Geun-hye's decision on everything from economic policy to the North Korean nuclear threat. But she has no policy background or any security clearance.

Ms Choi's father Choi Tae-min was a self-proclaimed messiah and founder of the Christian cult, the Church of Eternal Life.

According to Korean intelligence, he approached Park Geun-hye after her mother was assassinated in 1974, claiming her dead mother had spoken to him in his dreams.

He then became Ms Park's mentor and used the then-dictator's daughter to solicit bribes and accumulate a family fortune of his own, and then went on to bankroll Park Geun-hye's election campaign.

Protesters in South Korea have demanding Park Geun-hye offer her resignation. ( ABC: Joseph Kim )

As early as 2013, officials tried to raise alarms about President Park's relationships with Ms Choi only to be demoted fired or even imprisoned.

Ms Park has publicly apologised twice for the scandal and says she knew nothing of the extortion.

She said she let her guard down with a trusted family friend, but the public is not buying it and for the last six weeks they have come out in their millions on the streets demanding her resignation.

Push for Ban Ki-moon to be next president

Friday might be that day. Pro-impeachment politicians believe they have the 200 votes out of 300 in the national assembly to remove the President.

The three opposition parties are united but critically they need 28 votes from the President Park's own party, Saenuri, to make up the numbers.

The Opposition says they have secured up to 40 votes from the ruling party but that has been disputed.

If the impeachment bill succeeds, Ms Park will be suspended as President but not immediately removed.

Her duties would be temporarily transferred to the Prime Minister while a court reviews whether her impeachment is constitutionally sound.

Protesters occupy major streets in the city centre for a rally against Park Geun-hye in Seoul. ( AP: Chung Sung-Jun )

That process can take up to six months, and needs six of the courts nine justices to support the impeachment. After the court approves the impeachment, a new presidential election is held within 60 days.

So President Park Geun-hye is not done yet, and it could take months before she leaves office.

Meanwhile, the public is searching for a new leader and most want former UN secretary general Bi Ki-moon to be the new president.

He hasn't put his hand up yet, but people of South Korea are hoping he has the credibility and strength to dismantle the culture of corruption or what Koreans say is the "Korean Disease".

President Park has said she will accept the impeachment vote and would be willing to step down by April.

She will leave behind a struggling economy — consumer confidence is at a seven-year low, household debts have surged and youth unemployment is at record highs of 12.5 per cent.

The vast majority of South Koreans see her presidency as a spectacular failure.

The OECD, acknowledging the effect of the scandal, has just cut growth forecasts for South Korea to 2.6 per cent for 2017.