On October 25, 2016, Park Geun-hye issued an apology speech to the nation for the censorship of presidential speeches by her confidant Choi Soon-sil, saying that when she ran for president in 2012, Choi Soon-sil provided personal advice on campaign matters, mainly speeches and public relations. Activity. After her inauguration speech in 2013, she continued to seek advice from Choi Soon-sil on some materials; after the Blue House Secretariat Group was established, she no longer sought help from Choi Soon-sil.
On the evening of October 28, 2016, a spokesman for the Blue House said that Park Geun-hye ordered the collective resignation of 10 senior Blue House secretaries that day in preparation for the reorganization of the Blue House staff team. These officials include Cheong Wa Dae Civil Affairs Chief Secretary Yoo Jang-woo and Economic Affairs Senior Secretary Ahn Jong-beom. The former is suspected of enjoying special treatment in the real estate transactions of his in-law family and his son’s military service. He was accused of being unable to stop the work of Choi Soon-sil, who was suspected of assisting Choi Soon-sil in forcing Korean companies to lose huge amounts of money to two foundations established by Choi Soon-sil. On the other hand, South Korean people held continuous large-scale demonstrations and rallies in Seoul, demanding Park Geun-hye step down.
On November 2, 2016, South Korean prosecutors applied to the South Korean court for formal arrest warrants for two criminal suspects, "abuse of power and obstruction of exercise of rights (**** crime)" and "attempted fraud" . The arrest of Park Geun-hye's close confidant Choi Soon-sil is at the heart of this incident. A South Korean court is expected to issue a formal arrest warrant for Choi Soon-sil on the 3rd.
Park Geun-hye gave a televised speech on November 4, 2016, once again expressing her stance on the "behind-the-scenes interference" of her confidant Choi Soon-sil. She said that if the people need it, she will honestly cooperate with the prosecutor's investigation to find out the truth.
On November 5, 2016, the person in charge of Blue House stated that Park Geun-hye had transferred power to Kim Byung-joon, the prime minister nominee. Kim Byung-jun has previously stated that as prime minister, he will exercise 100% of the powers granted by the constitution.
On November 13, 2016, the Special Investigation Headquarters of the Prosecutor’s Office, which is responsible for investigating "interference by presidential associates", was studying a plan to investigate President Park Geun-hye around the 20th. If prosecutors decide to investigate Park Geun-hye, it will be the first time in South Korea's constitutional history that a sitting president has been investigated by prosecutors.
On November 20, 2016, South Korean prosecutors announced that Park Geun-hye had been involved in "**** conspiracy to commit crimes" to a large extent in the "Cui Soon-sil political interference case" and was officially filed as a suspect. South Korea's "Korean National Daily" reported on November 21 that South Korean prosecutors decided to continue investigating President Park Geun-hye and other principal culprits based on the indictment against Choi Soon-sil and others on November 20. President Park Geun-hye thus became the first president in the history of South Korea's current president to be investigated by prosecutors as a core suspect.
On November 23, 2016, Blue House responded to Korean media’s accusations of purchasing Viagra, saying that the drug was purchased to treat altitude sickness. In December 2015, Cheong Wa Dae successively purchased Viagra worth approximately 830,000 won (approximately 5,000 yuan). After this news was reported by South Korean media, it aroused widespread concern in society. The South Korean media also accused Qingwadae of abusing national tax revenue.
On November 25, 2016, the approval rating of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who was deeply involved in the girlfriend scandal, fell to a historical low of 4 after maintaining a level of 5 for three consecutive weeks.
On the afternoon of November 29, 2016, Park Geun-hye delivered her third speech to the people regarding the incident of her best friend’s interference in politics. At the same time, she stated that she would explain the specific circumstances of a series of incidents including the incident of her best friend’s interference in politics as soon as possible. The South Korean Presidential Office stated that she will resign as president in due course in accordance with the political agenda and legal procedures. As for the issue of whether to stay or leave, such as shortening the presidential term, it will be decided by Congress.
Korea’s opposition parties and non-party members submitted a bill to impeach President Park Geun-hye to Congress in the early morning of December 3, 2016. They plan to report to the plenary session of Congress on December 8 and promote Congress to vote on December 9.
On December 5, 2016, Yonhap News Agency quoted multiple sources from the South Korean ruling party as saying that Park Geun-hye will deliver her fourth speech to the people on December 6 or 7 on the "Crony Interference Scandal". And announced that he will step down before the end of April next year.
On December 9, 2016, the South Korean Congress voted on the motion to impeach President Park Geun-hye for her "Choi Soon-sil" bestie's involvement in politics. 299 people voted and 234 voted in favor. President Park Geun-hye will be suspended and replaced by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-an. After the impeachment case is passed, it will be submitted to the Constitutional Court for ruling. The Constitutional Court must rule within 180 days at the latest. If the Constitutional Court rules that the impeachment is valid, Park Geun-hye will be removed from the presidency and a new presidential election will be held within 60 days.
On January 5, 2017, in Seoul, South Korea, the Constitutional Court of South Korea held the second court debate on the impeachment case of President Park Geun-hye, and Park Geun-hye was absent again.
From February 8th to 10th, Park Geun-hye will undergo judicial investigation as a suspect.
February 9, 2017--Previously, the Blue House had discussed and decided with the South Korean special inspection team that Park Geun-hye would be investigated in person at the Blue House on the 9th of this month. However, after some South Korean media reported the news on the 7th, Cheong Wa Dae accused the South Korean special inspection team of leaking the information, saying that the special inspection team could no longer be trusted and the investigation time needed to be renegotiated. On the 8th, South Korea’s special inspection team also publicly stated that it must not leak information about the presidential investigation and cannot accept questioning.
South Korea's special prosecution team responsible for investigating President Park Geun-hye's "nepotism" case determined on February 28, 2017 that President Park Geun-hye conspired with his close confidant Choi Soon-sil to steal Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and the actual leader of Samsung Group. Taking bribes in hand.
On March 6, 2017, the South Korean Special Prosecution Team responsible for investigating the "nepotism" incident announced the final investigation results in Seoul, filing 13 charges against President Park Geun-hye, accusing her of abusing her power, accepting bribes, etc. count.
On March 6, 2017, Yoo Yong-ha, the attorney for South Korean President Park Geun-hye, condemned the final investigation results released by the special inspection team, saying that the establishment of the special inspection team was an unconstitutional political product, and denied that the special inspection team group of all charges.
According to Korean media reports, on March 8, 2017, the Constitutional Court of South Korea announced that it would pronounce the verdict on the presidential impeachment case at 11 a.m. local time on March 10, and the day to decide Park Geun-hye’s fate was coming.
Handcuffs
On March 20, 2017, former South Korean President Park Geun-hye decided to go to court. She made this statement before the arraignment. Park Geun-hye became the fourth president in South Korea's constitutional history to be interrogated by prosecutors. [49]
On March 21, 2017, former South Korean President Park Geun-hye attended the investigation of the Special Investigation Headquarters of the South Korean Prosecutor’s Office as a suspect.
On March 25, 2017, supporters of South Korea’s impeached President Park Geun-hye participated in a large-scale rally in Seoul to protest the impeachment resolution.
On the morning of April 10, 2017, the Special Task Force of the South Korean Prosecutor's Special Investigation Headquarters began the fourth "prison interrogation" of former President Park Geun-hye at the Seoul Detention Center, focusing on investigating Park Geun-hye's suspected bribery.
According to Yonhap News Agency, on the afternoon of April 17, 2017, South Korean prosecutors filed a public prosecution against former President Park Geun-hye, bringing an end to the investigation into the "cronyes interfering in politics" incident that lasted for more than five months. South Korean prosecutors found Park Geun-hye guilty of 18 charges including abuse of power, accepting bribes, and leaking secrets. Among them, Park Geun-hye is suspected of accepting bribes amounting to 59.2 billion won (equivalent to 358 million yuan). South Korean media predict that if convicted of bribery-related charges, Park Geun-hye may be sentenced to 10 years or be escorted to court
On April 21, 2017, it was learned from a South Korean court that she was suspected of accepting bribes of 59.2 billion South Korea's Park Geun-hye will go on trial on May 2.
[54]
At 10 a.m. on May 2, 2017, the Seoul Central District Court of South Korea conducted the first preliminary hearing on the suspected case of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye being suspected of accepting bribes of 59.2 billion won (approximately 358 million yuan). On the same day, the court set the next preliminary hearing of Park Geun-hye's case on May 16, and the court officially opened on May 23.
On May 23, 2017, former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached and resigned, will be tried for a corruption scandal. Experts say all of South Korea will wait with bated breath for the trial to unfold after months of political chaos and a power vacuum.
Reason for arrest
On March 27, 2017, South Korean prosecutors decided to apply to the court for approval to arrest former President Park Geun-hye. He also summarized and announced the three reasons for requesting a trial
to arrest Park Geun-hye.
The first reason is the seriousness of the problem. Prosecutors believe that Park Geun-hye abused her power by taking advantage of the president's supreme status and power, accepting money from companies, infringing on corporate freedom of operation, and leaking important official secrets. The case is quite serious.
The prosecutor said in the second reason that although the prosecutor had obtained a large amount of evidence through investigation, the criminal suspect still denied most of his criminal suspicions, and there was a possibility of destroying the evidence in the future.
Best friend Choi Soon-sil will appear in court
Ensuring fairness is the third reason for the prosecutor’s arrest request. Prosecutors said it was unfair not to arrest Park Geun-hye when Choi Soon-sil (****), public officials involved in executing the order, and the briber had all been arrested.
After raising the above reasons, the South Korean prosecutors also stated, "After comprehensive consideration, we believe that the arrest of Park Geun-hye is a measure that complies with the law and principles."
On March 30, 2017, the Seoul Central District Court in South Korea held a hearing on whether to approve the arrest of former President Park Geun-hye. Park Geun-hye herself
was arrested in person
Accepted interrogation. The court will rule later today or tomorrow (March 31) on whether to issue an arrest warrant.
Postponed
The 16th court debate of President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment trial opened at the Constitutional Court on the 22nd. Park Geun-hye’s defense lawyer team applied to the court, requesting the addition of 20 new witnesses, including Congress Speaker Chung Se-kyun and former Constitutional Court President Park Han-chul.
Park Geun-hye’s defense lawyer Kim Pyong-woo said that former President Park Han-chul’s remarks about holding a presidential election before March 13 caused great social chaos. He was the culprit in exacerbating political chaos and should be summoned. Testify in court and explain your remarks.
Kim Pyong-woo said that he will prove in front of three jurists including Heo Young, a visiting professor at Kyung Hee University Graduate School of Law, that the Constitutional Court's hearing of the impeachment case violates the constitution.
In addition, Park Geun-hye’s lawyers also requested the addition of National Assembly Speaker Chung Se-kyun, main party members Kim Moo-sung, Ryu Seung-min and Hwang Yong-cheol, Liberty Korea Party members Jung Jin-suk, Na Hyung-won, Kim Dou-eup and Zheng Jong-suk, as well as 20 witnesses, including Including many congressmen from ****, as well as the Democratic Party and the National Party.
Some analysts believe that Park Geun-hye’s insistence on filing this application is deliberately delaying time, because the Constitutional Court has made it clear that it will not add new witnesses to the trial in the future.
Comments on the incident
As the first sitting president to announce that he will be investigated by prosecutors, Park Geun-hye’s move left a disgraceful page in South Korea’s 68-year constitutional history. However, Zhang Liangui, a professor at the Institute of International Strategic Studies of the Central Party School, believes that Park Geun-hye’s current position shows that she is fighting for as much initiative as possible for herself. As a politician, Park Geun-hye is taking a stand. She firmly believes that while she has responsibilities in this matter, it does not rise to the level of a criminal offense or impeachment. Her acceptance of the investigation by the judicial department also shows respect for justice. Of course, from the overall perspective, this is Park Geun-hye's political skill. In this way, she demonstrated a high profile and tried to take the initiative in this crisis. (Yonhap News Agency comment)