Tag: impeachment

S.Korea prosecutors to summon ex-president Park for questioning

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean prosecutors will summon former president Park Geun-Hye for questioning as a criminal suspect, a spokesperson said on Tuesday. Park has been named as an accomplice to the secret confidante at the heart of a corruption and influence-peddling scandal that triggered her dramatic downfall, Choi Soon-Sil. Confirmation of Park’s impeachment by the nation’s top court last week stripped her of immunity from criminal prosecution. “We will decide Wednesday when […]

South Korea’s Moon vows ‘new history’ after impeachment

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The front-runner to succeed South Korea’s impeached president Park Geun-Hye on Sunday called for unity as the country writes a “new history”, while hundreds gathered outside the home of the ousted leader in a show of support. The Constitutional Court on Friday upheld a parliamentary vote to impeach Park, effectively removing her from office over a corruption scandal involving her close friend. A presidential election is to be held within […]

S. Korea’s impeached Park leaves Blue House: Yonhap

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s impeached ex-president Park Geun-Hye left the presidential Blue House on Sunday, two days after the Constitutional Court’s verdict removing her from office over a massive corruption scandal. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said Park departed from the presidential office at around 1000 GMT and returned to her private residence in southern Seoul, where hundreds of her supporters have been protesting her ouster. The Constitutional Court on Friday upheld […]

S. Koreans jubilant, or stunned by president’s sacking

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The rival crowds outside South Korea’s constitutional court Friday for the verdict on impeached president Park Geun-Hye epitomised the opposing passions and generational splits over the country’s sweeping political scandal. Around 3,000 anti-Park demonstrators, mostly in their 20s to 40s, erupted with joy as the verdict was read out in a live television broadcast. “We won, we won,” they chanted, waving banners. “This is a victory of democracy,” 27-year-old student […]

Senator Ejercito warns that people behind Lascañas also figured in Estrada impeachment

    (Eagle News) — Senator JV Ejercito on Monday (March 6) said that the Senate hearing on the testimony of retired police officer Arturo Lascanas should not be used as a platform to destabilize the present government, particularly to oust President Rodrigo Duterte. In a hearing by the Senate committee on public order on the testimony of retired police officer Arturo Lascanas, Ejercito pointed out that some of the people behind Lascanas when he changed his story […]

S. Korea president’s lawyer says no evidence to back impeachment

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The impeachment trial of South Korea’s President Park Geun-Hye got under way Thursday, with her lawyers arguing there is no evidence to back the corruption allegations that threaten to force her from office. Parliament voted to impeach Park last month over an influence-peddling scandal that has brought hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets every week demanding her removal. Park is accused of colluding with a longtime friend, Choi […]

Impeachment flags off early race for S. Korea presidency

by Hwang Sunghee Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has set off an early scramble among her potential successors, even before the final decision has been made to remove her from office. While some have openly announced their intention to run, others have been more circumspect — resulting in a “phony campaign” where the declared and undeclared protagonists skirmish without really joining battle. On paper, […]

“Yellow” senators refute plans to oust Duterte

(Eagle News) — Liberal Party (LP) senators Franklin Drilon and Leila de Lima have dismissed allegations from President Rodrigo Duterte that his “yellow” critics are plotting his impeachment. “Walang katotohanan yan. We have not discussed any plot to change the President. We respect the mandate of the people,” Drilon told reporters. De Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte, said LP stalwarts were just making their voices be heard when they opposed the so-called extrajudicial killings, reimposing of death penalty, […]

Impeachment day for S. Korea’s president

by Park Chan-Kyong Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, once known as the “Queen of Elections”, faced an act of attempted political regicide Friday as lawmakers gathered to vote on a motion calling for her impeachment. Engulfed by a corruption scandal that has transfixed the nation and paralysed her administration, Park must now confront the prospect of going down as the first democratically-elected South Korean president to be kicked […]

S. Korea Park says she will accept impeachment, hedges resignation

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s scandal-hit President Park Geun-Hye said Tuesday she would accept the result of a looming and possibly lengthy impeachment process, but defied pressure to resign immediately. An opposition-sponsored impeachment motion is almost certain to be adopted by the national assembly on Friday, with some 30 rebel MPs from Park’s Saenuri party saying they will vote in favour. The motion would then require the approval of the Constitutional Court, whose deliberations […]

S. Korea’s main opposition moves toward Park impeachment

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The impeachment of South Korea’s embattled President Park Guen-Hye in a snowballing corruption case inched closer Monday when the main opposition party said it was examining its options. The move comes the day after prosecutors named Park a criminal suspect in a major influence-peddling case, tightening the noose on an already hugely unpopular leader. “We will immediately review the timing and methods of impeachment and set up a subcommittee to […]

Brazil’s Rousseff appeals against losing presidency

BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) – by Damian Wroclavsky and Sebastian Smith Impeached Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff filed a Supreme Court challenge Thursday to her removal from office in an early blow to new President Michel Temer’s bid to stabilize the country. The appeal, filed by Rousseff’s lawyer Jose Eduardo Cardozo and seen by AFP, demands “the immediate suspension of the effects of the Senate decision.” The Senate voted Wednesday to convict Rousseff on charges of having […]