S. Korean opposition parties agree to impeach President Park
SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — South Korea’s three main opposition parties agreed Wednesday to stick to their plans to impeach President Park Geun-hye, dismissing as a stalling tactic her offer to resign if parliament arranges a safe transfer of power.
Park’s conditional resignation offer Tuesday came as she faces nosediving approval ratings and massive street rallies calling for her ouster amid a huge political scandal involving her and a longtime shadowy confidante.
“The people of South Korea do not want to enter the new year with Park Geun-hye as president,” Choo Mi-ae, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said at the start of the meeting. “There is only one way under our constitution to halt a term of a president and that’s an impeachment motion.”
After the meeting, the three parties told a joint news conference that Park must step down immediately without setting any conditions and that their push for her impeachment remains unchanged.