{Masses of South Koreans descend on downtown Seoul for fourth time, urging President Park quit over political scandal.}<\/p>\n
Tens of thousands of protesters have gathered in South Korea’s Seoul for the fourth in a weekly series of demonstrations aimed at forcing President Park Geun-Hye to resign over a corruption scandal.<\/p>\n
Saturday’s protest came as Park’s approval ratings plunged with prosecutors planning to interview her, making her the first sitting South Korean president to be questioned in a criminal case.<\/p>\n
The scandal centres on Park’s shadowy confidante Choi Soon-sil, who is accused of using her ties with the president to coerce local firms to donate millions of dollars to non-profit foundations that Choi then used for personal gain.<\/p>\n
After claiming a turnout of about one million for last week’s protest, organisers said they expected some 500,000 people on Saturday, while police predicted one-tenth that number.<\/p>\n
S Korean MPs approve probe into president\u2019s alleged corruption
\nSo far the protests have been largely peaceful, with many families participating, but there was still a heavy police presence, with buses and trucks blocking access roads to the presidential Blue House.<\/p>\n
“There have been protesters on the streets in smaller numbers throughout Saturday. But the numbers have built up significantly as we approached the official start of the demonstration [in the evening],” Al Jazeera’s Wayne Haye said, reporting from Seoul. <\/p>\n
“It seems that hundreds of thousands of people are going to be here by the time this protest comes to an end later.”<\/p>\n
The president has defied calls to step down, but her lawyer said that she would cooperate with public prosecutors who sought to question her next week.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said that they planned to formally charge Choi by Sunday. They are also seeking to indict two of Park’s former aides who allegedly conspired with Choi.<\/p>\n
Separately, opposition parties used their parliamentary majority to pass a law that would allow for a special prosecutor to investigate the scandal.<\/p>\n
Opposition parties have yet to seriously push for Park’s impeachment because they fear triggering a backlash from conservative voters, which could hurt them in next year’s presidential election.<\/p>\n
However, there is a growing voice within the opposition that says an impeachment attempt is inevitable because it is unlikely Park will resign and give up her immunity from prosecution.<\/p>\n
Park’s term lasts until February 24, 2018. If she steps down before the presidential vote on December 20, 2017, an election must be held within 60 days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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