President Park stands alone against all South Korea, awaiting her fate.
The Problem At Hand
The South Korean President, Park Geun-hye, is under fire from the Korean public as well as the entire government, awaiting judgment from the Korean Parliament on whether to be impeached or not due to corruption charges. The Korean population has rioted for a long period to dethrone the President from her position of power due to the corruption allegations, and the peoples’ desires have finally been answered by the government. She has been stripped of all powers that are associated with her Presidency as she awaits the Parliament's decision on whether she will be impeached or not.
The allegations are as follows: President Park’s friend, Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of a prominent religious figure in Korea, along with two Presidential aides were charged with fraud. They used their connections with President Park to try and obtain money via coercion from businesses by pressuring them to donate to non-profit organizations, from which they attempted to use the money for personal gain. Choi Soon-sil and the two Presidential aides are currently facing fraud charges, while President Park is being charged for fraud and corruption.
Due to the legality of the situation, President Park could not be tried as President, therefore investigations are being launched and deliberations by Parliament are being held for impeachment or a forced resignation, so that she could be tried in a criminal court. Despite being seemingly distraught, she attempted to sound resolute as she addressed the rioting nation and stated that she would not step down from her position of power until the decision was finalized by the Parliament. However, this shows various complications in Korean politics as well as brings to light a multitude of problems, both personal and political, to the current President’s already laden plate.
Current State of the Controversy
As of Friday, the Parliament came to an official decision to impeach the President, leading to a complete stripping of all the President’s powers. However, this leaves Korea in a quite vulnerable and potentially dangerous position in the presence of the power vacuum, with the absence of the most influential political figure of a country. The national assembly has chosen to vote on the matter and have provided outstanding support for the matter, resulting in a vote of 234-56 with 6 abstaining members of the National Assembly in support of the impeachment. After the impeachment was made official, President Park cohered to the decision of the Assembly and decided to step down. Given this outcome, it plunges the state of South Korea as well as the state of world politics into an incredibly unpredictable spectrum.
The Impending Problem
Such a departure places one of the most important aspects of Park’s presidency, the regulation of North Korea and their nuclear programs, into uncertainty. It is still unclear as to how the Prime Minister-turned-interim President, as well as the election held within 60 days after this decision, will impact the way that South Korean policy has operated during this time. Part of the problem stems from the fact that South Korean elections are extremely unpredictable, with projections of the results not being predictable until nearly the end of the election. Also, this impeachment means the likelihood of the rise of an alternative political party is very likely. The demands of the people could possibly alter the perspectives of the general population on the efficacy, as well as the ethical consistency of the conservative party regarding serving the interests of the people.
However, that very rise means that there are massive unpredictable factors regarding foreign and domestic policy that may change a large proponent of the Asian political landscape. Particularly regarding the alliance of South Korea with the United States, this may lead to a more problematic relationship, as a rise of a Democratic party (the Minjoo Party of Korea who serve as the main opposition to the current Saenuri party) may lead to conflicting ideologies with the current President-Elect’s temperament, character and ideology. The unpredictability may soon be broken through the administration of the election, where campaigns should bring more clarity for the public.