Massive protests in South Korea caught the attention of the world this month, and now the headlines are dominated by news of President Park's suspension. The recent government scandal in South Korea was caused by a situation that the media can only describe as "strange" as more details are revealed. It seems as though a close personal relationship between the president, Park Geun-hye and her confidante, Choi Soon-sil, will destroy an entire administration and bring down the nation's first female leader. It's not a traditional case of fraud and corruption, but the president will have to answer for her involvement in allowing the wrong people to have access to important information and to wield government power. It all began when Choi Soon-sil was found to be exploiting this relationship with Korea's leader to get money from major corporations, and prosecutors also claim that she was given power and information that she is unqualified to receive. Choi's relationship with Park goes deeper than mere friendship, since Choi was a spiritual leader for Park and the president's main mentor for most of her life.

It's notable that the whole ordeal revolves around personal relationships that went awry, whether through the corrupt motives of one party or through a search for revenge. The media was given the incriminating information through the testimony of Ko Young-tae, a personal friend of Choi's, who sought to repay Choi's coldness toward him by revealing her crimes to the press. Due to the disintegration of their personal relationship, which he claims was only friendship, South Korea has been alerted to a scandal which brought attention to the enduring corruption among its leaders. Corruption has been an ongoing concern since the democracy was established in 1948, with the president holding large amounts of power and often abusing it to create a more authoritarian state.

Personal relationships play a much larger role in Korean politics and business than in most countries, and it's important to understand the emphasis placed on them by the Korean people. Korea's major corporations, the chaebols, function more as dynasties than normal, impersonal companies. These "groups" which include giants like Samsung and LG have boosted South Korea's economy and allowed the nation to flourish after its economic slump which followed the split between North and South in 1948. The leaders of these conglomerates, the chairmen, give managerial positions to their relatives, making personal connections the most important factor in employment. This makes it extremely hard for normal citizens to break into the cycle and rise through the ranks like they can in other nations, and it's one of the frustrating aspects about the excessive power the chaebols hold. These groups are integrally connected to politics as well, since they form such a large part of South Korea's economic prosperity. This relationship causes the government to favor certain companies, and in return the chairmen can give their support to key politicians in both monetary funding and personal endorsement. Since relationships play such a large role in Korea's political and economic dealings, it comes as no surprise that they lay at the root of the current presidential crisis.

So, what happens now? Parliament just decided to suspend Park with a vote of 234 to 56, and this allows the prime minister Hwang Kyo-ahn to take her place temporarily. Hwang worked as a lawyer before becoming justice minister and subsequently serving as prime minister, and he's actually taking some of the heat for Park's actions rather than dodging the fallout of this scandal. He claims that the situation occurred partially due to his failure to adequately support President Park in her role, and he seems to be willing to stay loyal to her throughout this process. Following Park's impeachment, South Koreans celebrated by taking to the streets to show their support of this decision, which is a victory for the will of the people. Koreans have impressed the world by staging mass protests peacefully, and hundreds of thousands of citizens participated in demonstrations in November that called for Park's resignation. The Korean people have made their voices heard, and they can now be emboldened as they realize their actions truly can change the course of history. On the international stage, this situation should be closely watched since instability in South Korea could cause North Korea to see this as an opportunity to begin military operations against its neighbor.