Hundreds of people gathered in front of Seoul’s National Assembly ahead of parliament’s vote on whether to impeach President Park Guen-hye on Friday.
Two thirds of the parliament’s 300 sitting members will need to vote in favour of impeachment for the motion to pass, including at least 28 members from Park’s own conservative Saenuri party.
Local media are reporting an 80 per cent chance of the motion being granted.
“Impeaching the sitting president may be considered a radical choice for conservatives who would prefer to accept President Park’s promise to step down in a so-called ‘orderly fashion’ by April next year," Yonsei University’s Dr Youngshik Daniel Bong said.
"But for her critics of Park impeachment is a milder alternative to actual political revolution. So impeachment is the middle of road choice for the majority of South Koreans."
On Thursday lawmakers from three of Seoul’s opposition parties vowed to step down if the impeachment vote fails to pass.
A resignation of the 164 politicians of the opposition Minjoo, People’s Party and Justice party would automatically dissolve the national assembly.
“They’ve willingly put their backs against the wall." Dr Bong said.
"Scholars on South Korea’s constitution are debating whether that would immediately require new elections, or whether the national assembly would remain in a vegetative state until the remaining members’ terms expire in the next three years.”
If the impeachment motion is passed Park’s constitutional powers will be suspended immediately and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Anh will serve as acting president.
South Koreans march toward national assembly as they carry placards with text reading 'Park Geun-Hye Out'. (AAP) Source: AAP
The Constitutional Court will then assess the legitimacy of the impeachment, a process which could take up to 180 days.
The embattled Park is accused of abusing her power as president and allowing her close friend Choi Soon-Sil, the daughter of a South Korean Shamanistic cult leader, to influence state affairs and coerce major companies to donate almost $100 million to two non-government organisations she controlled.
Millions of South Koreans have gathered in Seoul’s city centre demanding President Park’s immediate resignation for the past seven weeks, despite the leader making three public apologies and an announcement last week saying she would allow parliament to decide her resignation.
“The street demonstrations for the last few weeks can be summarised with the message, ‘enough is enough’," Dr Bong said.
"President Guen-hye doesn’t seem to have a basic knowledge of, or understanding of, the principles of a liberal democracy.”
