SEOUL: South Korea's ousted President Park Geun-hye was arrested on Friday (Mar 31) over the corruption and abuse of power scandal that brought her down, a court spokesman said.

The Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant to arrest Park on charges of bribery, abuse of authority, coercion, and leaking government secrets, after a marathon court hearing the previous day. </s> Ousted South Korean president Park Geun-Hye was arrested in the early hours of Friday, on charges of bribery, abuse of authority, coercion, and leaking government secrets. After a long hearing on Thursday, a court had said, “It is justifiable and necessary to arrest (Park) as key charges were justified and there is risk of evidence being destroyed.”

She was taken to a detention centre near Seoul, AFP reported.

A spokesperson for the Democratic Party’s leading presidential contender Moon Jae-in praised the arrest, calling it the first step to rebuilding a collapsed nation, The Korean Herald reported. Park’s own party, the Liberty Korea Party, however, said her arrest was “truly regrettable”. In a statement, they hoped that such a “painful history” won’t repeat itself.

Park is the first democratically elected leader to be ousted from office in South Korea. On December 9, the South Korean Parliament had impeached her.

The former president was accused of colluding with Choi Soon-sil, a long-time friend and confidante, to extort money in the form of donations from South Korean companies. The money, which was transferred to non-profit foundations controlled by Choi, was allegedly used for personal gains.

Park had also been accused of ordering her aides to leak official state documents to Choi, who has no official position in the South Korean government. There had been large scale protests demanding her removal as president. </s> Thousands of South Koreans took to Seoul's streets to demand President Park Geun-hye step down in the wake of allegations that Park let her friend, Choi Soon-Sil, interfere in important state affairs.

A protester wearing a mask of Park Geun-Hye holds a placard saying "Why do you need Halloween fest? We can see all the horror in our lives," during the protest.

A protester wearing a traditional Korean mask holds a placard saying "You Need to Resign Now" during the protest.

Police estimated that around 12,000 demonstrators attended the evening protest, according to the country's semi-official Yonhap news agency.

A protester satirizes President Park's relationship with Choi Soon-Sil, wearing a costume of a shaman during the Saturday night protest.

"The Choi Soon-Sil crisis revealed that President Park Geun-Hye has neither the ability nor capacity to administer the government," protest leader Han Sun-bum said Saturday. "So we've gathered to demand Park resign, and we are going to keep protesting to urge for resignation until Park steps down."

Protesters wearing masks of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and her confidante Choi Soon-Sil perform before a candlelit rally in central Seoul on Saturday. </s> A South Korean protester carries a placard showing images of South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil, top left, who is at the center of a political scandal, during a rally, calling for Park to step down in downtown Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016. South Korean prosecutors requested an arrest warrant for the longtime friend of Park on Wednesday over allegations of influence-peddling and other activities that have triggered a huge political scandal that threatens Park's leadership. The placard reads: "Park Geun-hye should step down."

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's president said Tuesday she will allow parliament to choose her prime minister, a major political concession to growing anger as she scrambles to defuse an escalating influence-peddling scandal.

The announcement by Park Geun-hye, who has faced tens of thousands of protesters and an investigation into whether a mysterious confidante manipulated government decisions, could severely curtail her ability to govern in the 15 months she has left in her term.

Park's decision, which came during a meeting Tuesday with National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, means that the liberal candidate for prime minister who she nominated last week as a way to settle growing anger will apparently be replaced. But opposition and ruling party lawmakers must first agree on someone else.

The political tug-of-war over the prime minister, who is typically chosen by the president as a No. 2, comes as opposition lawmakers demand that Park distance herself from domestic affairs because of the scandal involving Park's longtime confidante, Choi Soon-sil, who has no official government role.

Park giving up the presidential prerogative to choose a prime minister will further weaken her politically. She already faces terrible approval ratings and calls from the public to step down.

Earlier Tuesday, South Korean prosecutors raided the Seoul office of Samsung Electronics, the nation's largest and most valuable company, in connection with the scandal.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office linked the Samsung raid to an investigation into the scandal but provided no other details. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said investigators were following a suspicion that Samsung gave Choi's daughter illicit financial help.

Tens of thousands of people rallied in Seoul over the weekend, demanding Park's removal from office.

Nam Jeong-su, spokesman of Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the more militant of South Korea's two large umbrella union groups, said he expects 150,000 unionists, plus supporters, to gather Saturday and march to the presidential Blue House. </s> South Korean President Park Geun-hye is facing increasing pressure to resign as hundreds of thousands of demonstrators join nationwide protests over corruption claims.

In what is believed to be one of the largest demonstrations so far over the allegations engulfing Ms Park, organisers said 1.3 million protesters filled the streets in the capital of Seoul on Saturday evening, with 1.5 million estimated to join by the end of the night.

Some 500,000 people are expected to turn out in other regions. Police put the number of participants in Seoul at 260,000.

The demonstrations mark the fifth straight weekend of protests in the country and are among the largest seen in South Korea since the pro-democracy protests of the 1980s.

Farmers, university students and Buddhist monks were among the demonstrators, who beat drums and chanted "Park get out now", as they marched towards the Presidential Blue House, which had been cordoned over by 24,000 police.

The president is bracing for an impeachment push by opposition parties and some members of her own Saenuri Party amid allegations she let her long-time confidante Choi Soon-Sil, who has been arrested for fraud and abuse of power, influence government affairs and amass an illicit fortune despite holding no official position - a scandal critics say undermines the country's democracy.

Sixty-year-old Ms Choi allegedly used her relationship with Ms Park to drive donations from conglomerates, including SK, Lotte and Samsung, to non-profit foundations, which she set up and used for personal gain.

Ms Park has issued two public apologies over the scandal, which have only served to fuel public anger and suspicion, but has resisted repeated calls to resign.

She has promised to submit herself to an expanding probe by prosecutors as well as a separate investigation by an independent special prosecutor to be appointed by parliament.

The headquarters of SK, Lotte and Samsung were raided by state prosecutors this week along with the offices of the finance ministry and state pension fund.

At the rally in Seoul, protesters wearing raincoats and armed with umbrellas against the cold, wet weather, waved placards and lit candles as night descended.

Buddhist monks wearing grey robes recited a sutra while other protestors imitated Ms Park, Ms Choi and Samsung scion Lee Jae-Yong being led into prison.

"I don't think Park would step down voluntarily, but we need to raise our voice as much as possible to encourage parliament to push through with its move to impeach her," Lee Sung-Cheol a 23-year-old student told AFP.

"I came here because I wanted to show my children that people are the owner of this country, not the power holders," Shim Ku-Il, a 47-year-old company employee said.

Kwak Bo-youn, 45, said: "I was watching the news and thought this cannot go on - people really want her to step down but she hasn't. This is the second time for me to the protests, but the first time for my husband and kids".

Ms Park's approval ratings have plummeted since the allegations emerged. After hovering at just five per cent for three consecutive weeks her approval rating dipped one percentage point on Friday.

According to a poll by Gallup Korea, her disapproval rating has risen three percentage points to 93 per cent. Her lowest approval rating is among young people, with 99 per cent of 19 to 29 year-olds disapproving of the president.

A parliamentary vote to impeach Ms Park, whose five year term ends in February 2018, could take place as early as next week as an increasing number of ruling party politicians back the opposition-led campaign to remove her from office.

If parliament passes the impeachment motion, Ms Park would be suspended from official duties and replaced by the prime minister. The Constitutional Court would need to approve the impeachment. </s> SEOUL — Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye — who was ousted from office earlier this month — was arrested on Friday.

“Major crimes have been ascertained and there is a concern that the suspect might attempt to destroy evidence,” Judge Kang Bu-young said in a text message to reporters.

“The court recognizes the need, necessity and reasonableness of the suspect’s arrest.”

Prosecutors announced Monday that they were seeking to arrest Park on charges relating to abuse of power, accepting bribes and leaking important information. Park had been held in a temporary detention facility at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office Building ahead of the court’s decision.

Park will be taken to Seoul Detention Center, which is located just outside Seoul and where her confidant Choi Soon-sil and some of the high-profile figures embroiled in an ongoing scandal, including Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, have been detained.

“The suspect abused the mighty power and position as president to take bribes from companies and infringed upon the freedom of corporate management and leaked important confidential official information,” the statement from the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office said.

Park has not yet been formally indicted, prosecutors told CNN, and it’s unclear when that will occur.

Park was removed from office on March 10, after South Korea’s Constitutional Court upheld a decision to impeach her for alleged corruption.

The former president was accused of helping a confidant raise donations from companies for foundations she had set up.

The scandal dominated the headlines in South Korea and prompted mass protests when it emerged late last year. The controversy centered around Park’s friend and close adviser, Choi Soon-sil, who is alleged to have significant and inappropriate influence over Park. Choi is currently on trial for abuse of power and fraud.

The Constitutional Court’s impeachment ruling stripped Park of her presidential immunity and cleared the way for prosecutors to seek her arrest.

A presidential election will be held on May 9 to choose a new leader. </s> SEOUL — South Korean President Park Geun-hye faced mounting pressure to step down on Saturday as hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched in the capital to protest allegations that she let a friend meddle in state affairs.

Saturday's rally in downtown Seoul was the largest so far in a crisis engulfing Park, 64, and organisers said some 850,000 people packed streets running through the city centre including a 12-lane thoroughfare. Police estimated the crowd at 260,000.

Students, families including young couples pushing strollers and protesters in wheelchairs were among the crowd during the peaceful march, which contrasted with the violence of some previous rallies dominated by militant unions and civic groups that clashed with police.

One man travelled seven hours from the southern town of Gimhae to join the rally demanding Park step down a year before her mandate is due to end.

"Park Geun-hye! Today! Step down! Immediately! Step down! Now!" protesters chanted a few hundred metres from the presidential Blue House.

"I'm here so that this country will be a better place for my daughters," said Park Min-hee, 34, a housewife who was at the rally with her two young daughters and her husband's parents. "Park Geun-hye did wrong. She must step down right now."

It was the third weekend protest rally since Park's first public apology on October 25 when she admitted she had sought the advice of her friend, Choi Soon-sil.

Park's acknowledgement only served to fuel public anger and suspicion over the secret confidant, who apparently held no official government position.

Another apology by Park and an offer to work with the parliamentary opposition to form a new Cabinet and relinquish some power also failed to quell the crisis, prompting opponents to say she did not grasp its severity.

Park has dismissed some of her most senior and closest advisers, and former aides have been arrested on charges of abuse of power. Choi, the friend who is believed to have been acquainted with the president since the 1970s, has been charged with abuse of power and fraud.

Members of main opposition parties joined Saturday's rally, suggesting there is growing support in parliament for action to remove her from power, although there was no formal move yet to launch impeachment proceedings.

No South Korean president has ever failed to finish their five-year term.

Park's approval rating has dropped to 5 per cent for a second week, according to a poll conducted by Gallup Korea and released on Friday, the lowest number for a South Korean president since such polling began under democratically elected leaders in 1988.

Gallup Korea, based in Seoul, is not affiliated with US-based Gallup, Inc., the American firm said.

Park is the daughter of Park Chung-hee who took power in a 1961 military coup and ruled until he was assassinated by his disgruntled spy chief in 1979, five years after his wife was shot dead in the head by a killer who meant to shoot him. </s> SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors are likely to question President Park Geun-hye this week over suspicion that she let a shadowy longtime confidante manipulate power from behind the scenes, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported Sunday.

If would be the first time that a sitting president has been questioned by prosecutors. The explosive scandal is the most serious challenge for Park, whose public apologies have done little to calm public anger.

Yonhap’s Korean-language service quoted an unidentified prosecution official as saying prosecutors want to question Park face-to-face on either Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest. The report said that prosecutors conveyed their position to Park’s office and were awaiting a response.

The president’s office had no immediate comment on the report.

In addition to allegedly manipulating power, the president’s confidante, Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of a late cult leader who emerged as Park’s mentor in the 1970s, is also suspected of exploiting her presidential ties to bully companies into donating tens of millions of dollars to foundations she controlled.

Choi was formally arrested on Nov. 3 on charges of fraud and abuse of power. Prosecutors have until Nov. 20 to formally charge her.

On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people flooded Seoul’s streets to demand Park’s resignation in what may be South Korea’s largest protest since it shook off dictatorship three decades ago.

In an attempt to stabilize the situation, Park said Tuesday that she would let the opposition-controlled parliament choose her prime minister. But opposition parties say her words are meaningless without specific promises about transferring much of her presidential powers to a new No. 2.

Under South Korean law, the president has immunity from prosecution except in cases of treason, but she can be investigated.

Park has 15 months left in her term. If she steps down before the end of it, an election must be held within 60 days. </s> (CNN) Seoul prosecutors are set to question South Korean President Park Geun-hye early this week for her role in the political corruption scandal involving an informal adviser.

It follows a second weekend of mass protests that saw hundreds of thousands of demonstrators cram city streets demanding her resignation.

Park has admitted sharing classified documents with close friend and informal adviser Choi Soon-sil.

Choi is accused of using her relationship with Park to acquire millions of dollars in donations for her foundations. She's been arrested on charges of abuse of power and attempted fraud.

According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, this will be the first time in the country's history that a president has been questioned by prosecutors.

The prosecutor's office is still waiting for a response from the presidential palace and the location of the questioning has not been decided.

When Choi's father died, she succeeded him as leader of the Eternal Life Church. For years, she's been giving Park spiritual guidance.

President Park has already apologized twice for the lapse, but that has done little to assuage thousands of South Koreans who have attended rallies over the past weeks to demand her resignation. Some protesters assert that the marches will continue until Park resigns.

On Saturday -- in one of the biggest anti-government protests the country has seen in decades -- protesters gathered around the presidential compound in the South Korean capital of Seoul to vent their anger at President Park.

In a press briefly Sunday, Park's spokesman said the President had "heard the voices of the people yesterday with gravity and deeply realizes the seriousness of the current situation."

He added that Park was considering ways to "normalize the state of affairs and fulfill her responsibility as President."

Earlier in November, Park asserted in a televised address to the nation that she was ready to co-operate with the prosecutor's investigation.

"I have already instructed Blue House secretary's office and security office to fully co-operate with the prosecutor's investigation," said Park.

Multiple aides to President Park have also resigned in the wake of the scandal, including four senior secretaries responsible for political affairs and policy coordination.

And on November 2, President Park sacked the country's prime minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, replacing him with Kim Byong-joon, a professor at Seoul's Kookmin University.
Tens of thousands protest in the South Korean capital, Seoul, calling for the resignation of President Park Geun-hye over her links with Choi Soon-sil, who was arrested on November 3, and charged with fraud and abuse of power.