THE numbers make for grim reading: for the past fortnight Park Geun-hye has been South Korea’s most unloved president ever. Her approval rating stands at 5%; among the young it is nil. As many as 1m people rallied for hours in Seoul, the capital, on November 12th to demand her resignation—the biggest demonstration since 1987, when mass protests against the military regime of the day led to the country’s first democratic elections. Ms Park acknowledged the “seriousness” of the situation, but said she would continue to “fulfil her duty as president”.
For weeks Ms Park’s conservative administration has been besieged by accusations of influence-peddling involving Choi Soon-sil, a confidante. The president turned to her for advice on state affairs, although she held no official position. South Koreans are incensed by rumours that Ms Choi swayed policy and orchestrated cabinet reshuffles, exploiting her clout to win favours. She has been arrested on suspicion of manipulating conglomerates into funnelling 80bn won ($70m) to two foundations that she controls. Prosecutors have detained two former presidential aides who are thought to have...Continue reading
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