Impeachment of Park Geun-hye

The National Assembly building, where the motion to impeach originated.

The procedure for impeachment is set out in the 10th Constitution of South Korea in 1987. According to Article 65 Clause 1, if the President, Prime Minister, or other state council members violate the Constitution or other laws of official duty, the National Assembly can impeach them.

Clause 2 states the impeachment bill must be proposed by one third, and approved by a majority of members of the National Assembly for passage. In the case of the President, the motion must be proposed by a majority and approved by two thirds or more of the total members of the National Assembly, meaning that 200 of 300 members of the parliament must vote to approve the bill. This article also states that any person against whom a motion for impeachment has been passed shall be suspended from exercising his/her power until the impeachment has been adjudicated, and a decision on impeachment shall not extend further than removal from public office. However, impeachment shall not exempt the person impeached from civil or criminal liability for such violations.[6]

By the Constitutional Court Act of 1988, the Constitutional Court must make a final decision within 180 days after it receives any case for adjudication, including impeachment cases. If the respondent has already left office before the pronouncement of the decision, the case is dismissed.[7]

The last president to be subject to impeachment was Roh Moo-hyun, who was impeached by the National Assembly in 2004 and was suspended from duties for two months. In that case, the Constitutional Court of Korea acquitted Roh and restored him to power,[8] with the South Korean public by and large in support of Roh.[9]

Protest against Park Geun-hye in Seoul, 29 October 2016

Revelations emerged in late October 2016, that President Park Geun-hye's aide, Choi Soon-sil, who did not have an official position in the government, had used her position to seek donations of money from several business conglomerates (known as chaebol), including Samsung, Hyundai, SK Group and Lotte, to two foundations she controlled.[10][11] These revelations were first revealed when Park's unofficial clothier Ko Young-tae revealed evidence to the media of the nature of Park and Choi's relationship which suggested Choi's access to Park's personal and work life,[12] and Choi was said to have directly influenced, and interfered with the policies of the Park government and to have edited Park's presidential speeches.[13] Media investigations also reported that Choi and President Park's senior staff members, including both Ahn Jong-bum and Jeong Ho-sung, have allegedly used their influence to extort ₩77.4 billion ($60 million) from Korean chaebols—family-owned large business conglomerates—and set up two culture- and sports-related foundations, Mir and K-sports foundations.[14][15][16]

On 25 October 2016, Park apologized to the nation in a televised address from the Blue House for giving Choi access to draft speeches during the first months of her presidency. Protests began on 26 October calling on President Park's resignation. Three days later, she dismissed her top aides including chief of staff Kim Ki-choon and two members of the cabinet and attempted to replace prime minister Hwang Kyo-ahn with Kim Byong-joon, a former aide to former president Roh Moo-hyun, but this was rejected by the National Assembly.

On 31 October, Choi Soon-sil was arrested by prosecutors, having concluded that there was enough evidence for an indictment. She was formally charged with abuse of power and fraud on 20 November.

Park made a second apology on 4 November, pledging to take responsibility if she was found guilty, and a third apology on 29 November, calling for the National Assembly to decide the manner of her departure, but this was rejected by the opposition-controlled legislature. Protests across South Korea began on 26 October with Park's approval rating dropping to 4%, and according to an opinion poll, as of 9 December 78% of South Koreans supported her impeachment.[17] President Park appointed Park Young-soo, former head of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, as a special prosecutor to investigate the allegations on 30 November.[18]

Choi's daughter Chung Yoo-ra was also sought by prosecutors as a key witness. When she did not return to Korea for the investigation, an Interpol warrant was put out for her arrest. She was arrested in Denmark on 1 January 2017, and extradited to Korea in May.[19] In late 2016 and early 2017, the German Federal Police began investigating Choi and Chung for money laundering.[20]

The response to the Sewol ferry sinking accident that occurred on 16 April 2014 also contributed to Park's declining presidential ratings.[21]

Protesters congregated outside the National Assembly hall where the voting session was held. Some 40 family members of the victims of the sinking of MV Sewol looked on as lawmakers cast their secret ballots. Citizens who have been rallying in massive numbers against Park rejoiced at the news, while Park's supporters called the parliamentary impeachment a "witch-hunt" without concrete evidence of Park's wrongdoings.[27][28]

On 1 January 2017, Park appeared in public for the first time since the impeachment before a select group of reporters at the Blue House, saying she denied any allegations of the scandal and wrongdoings.[29][30]

English Translation: Impeachment of the President (Park Geun-hye), Case No. 2016Hun-Na1

People hold a sign with messages reading "Candlelight's Victory" in Gwanghwamun immediately after the verdict

On 10 March 2017, 11.00 am KST, the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment in a unanimous 8–0 decision read out by Acting Chief Justice Lee Jung Mi, formally ending Park's presidency.[42][43] This marked the first time that a sitting president was removed from the office since the creation of the Sixth Republic of South Korea after the country's democratization in 1987.[8] Both supporters and opponents of Park had gathered outside the Constitutional Court building for the verdict. Three died and dozens were injured as a result of the ensuing clashes between her supporters and police.[44][45]

In July 2018, it emerged that the Defense Security Command made plans for declaring martial law and authority to use military force to crackdown on protesters, if the Constitutional Court did not uphold Park's removal from office.[49] The DSC had planned to mobilize 200 tanks, 550 armoured vehicles, 4,800 armed personnel, and 1,400 members of special forces in Seoul in order to enforce martial law. Other components of the plan included monitoring and censoring media content and arresting politicians taking part in protests.[50]

On 6 April 2018, Park was sentenced to 24 years in prison, after being found guilty of abuse of power and coercion. This was later raised to 25 years and a fine of ₩20 billion (US$17.86 million) following an appeal by prosecutors.[2][3] She was pardoned in December 2021.[51]