Besieged Park breaks down in 1st public visit as scandal hurts
Print Edition
BATTERED by massive protests and an impeachment push, South Korea’s president cried yesterday during her first public appearance among her citizens since a huge political scandal exploded in October, as police arrested a man accused of setting fire to her father’s birthplace in a nearby city.
President Park Geun-hye’s visit to a rural market came as opponents in parliament squabble over whether to impeach her.
Police said they arrested a 48-year-old man who told investigators he used paint thinner to set fire to the birthplace of Park’s late father yesterday because he was angry over her refusal to step down immediately over the scandal involving a confidant accused of influence peddling and extortion.
A memorial hall for Park’s parents, ex-President Park Chung-hee and Yook Young-soo, was nearly burned down. The hall is a popular tourist attraction. The suspect was previously convicted of setting fire to the birthplace of another former president, Roh Tae-woo, in 2012, according to police.
Park didn’t comment publicly on the arson. Earlier yesterday, she visited a market in the nearby city of Daegu where hundreds of shops had been destroyed by a previous fire.
Daegu is Park’s political home turf where she was elected as a national lawmaker four times before becoming president in 2013.
Local TV showed dozens of people at the market shouting “Park Geun-hye! Park Geun-hye!” and using cellphones to photograph her as she walked through the fire-ravaged shops. One middle-aged woman wiped away tears. Near the market dozens of anti-Park citizens staged rallies calling for her ouster, media reports said.
“Merchants (here) supported me whenever I had difficulties and I’m really sorry,” Park said during her visit, according to her office. “I agonized a lot over whether I should come here in the current situation.”
Park cried after returning to her car, her office said, citing presidential security staff who traveled with her.
On Tuesday, Park said she would quit if parliament arranges a safe transfer of power, drawing fierce criticism from main opposition parties that described her overture as a tactic to buy time that would allow her to survive the scandal.
Park’s offer appears to have caused cracks among dissenters in her ruling party who earlier supported her impeachment. A group of anti-Park lawmakers is now saying they won’t join an impeachment drive if Park resigns in April and helps ensure a stable power transfer until a new president takes office following a presidential by-election.
A meeting between leaders of the main opposition parties yesterday ended without any major breakthrough. They differ over whether they should push for Park’s impeachment this week or delay it.
Hesitation over Park’s impeachment is because the opposition doesn’t have enough lawmakers to pass an impeachment in parliament, and they would need help from dissenters in Park’s ruling Saenuri Party.
Passing an impeachment motion needs at least 200 votes in the 300-member National Assembly, but the three opposition parties and anti-Park independent lawmakers have 172 seats.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
