South Korea&#39;s Constitutional Court on Thursday began its deliberations on a parliamentary impeachment vote against President Park Geun-hye, who could become the first elected South Korean leader to be thrown out of office.

Park was indicted in a December 9 parliamentary vote by a wider-than-expected margin after being accused of colluding with a friend to pressure big businesses to make contributions to non-profit foundations backing presidential initiatives.

Park, whose father ruled the country for 18 years after seizing power in a 1961 coup, has denied wrongdoing but apologised for carelessness in her ties with the friend, Choi Soon-sil, who is facing her own trial.

Neither Park nor Choi appeared in court on Thursday when judges decided to admit prosecutors&#39; investigation documents, in an early setback for Park&#39;s defence team, which had tried to block them. Although stripped of her presidential powers, which are being wielded by the prime minister, Park retains her title and her official residence.

She is serving a single five-year term which is set to end in February 2018, and has presidential immunity but risks facing prosecution after leaving office.

Park&#39;s popularity has sunk to near record lows since the influence-peddling scandal blew up, but many South Koreans already had doubts about her leadership, partly because of a 2014 ferry disaster in which 300 people, most of them school children, were killed.

The Court raised that accident on Thursday, asking that Park account for her activities during a seven-hour period when the disaster was unfolding, and when her critics believe she was negligent.

&quot;We request the claimee report where she was in the Blue House, during the seven hours that has become an issue, exactly what work she was engaged in,&quot; one of the court&#39;s nine judges, Lee Jinsung, said, referring to the presidential compound in the capital, Seoul.

The court also identified Park&#39;s friend, Choi, and two former Blue House officials, An Chong-bum and Jeong Ho-seong, as witnesses in the hearing. Park&#39;s lawyers said earlier the vote to impeach her had no legal basis and the court should throw the case out. The court said it would hold the next preparatory hearing on December 27.

(Reuters)

Park has denied wrongdoing, but is accused of colluding with a friend to secure donations for her NGO

South Korea's Constitutional Court on Thursday began its deliberations on a parliamentary impeachment vote against President Park Geun-hye, who could become the first elected South Korean leader to be thrown out of office. Park was indicted in a December 9 parliamentary vote by a wider-than-expected margin after being accused of colluding with a friend to pressure big businesses to make contributions to non-profit foundations backing presidential initiatives. Park, whose father ruled the country for 18 years after seizing power in a 1961 coup, has denied wrongdoing but apologised for carelessness in her ties with the friend, Choi Soon-sil, who is facing her own trial. Neither Park nor Choi appeared in court on Thursday when judges decided to admit prosecutors' investigation documents, in an early setback for Park's defence team, which had tried to block them. Although stripped of her presidential powers, which are being wielded by the prime minister, Park retains her title and her official residence. She is serving a single five-year term which is set to end in February 2018, and has presidential immunity but risks facing prosecution after leaving office. Park's popularity has sunk to near record lows since the influence-peddling scandal blew up, but many South Koreans already had doubts about her leadership, partly because of a 2014 ferry disaster in which 300 people, most of them school children, were killed. The Court raised that accident on Thursday, asking that Park account for her activities during a seven-hour period when the disaster was unfolding, and when her critics believe she was negligent. "We request the claimee report where she was in the Blue House, during the seven hours that has become an issue, exactly what work she was engaged in," one of the court's nine judges, Lee Jinsung, said, referring to the presidential compound in the capital, Seoul. The court also identified Park's friend, Choi, and two former Blue House officials, An Chong-bum and Jeong Ho-seong, as witnesses in the hearing. Park's lawyers said earlier the vote to impeach her had no legal basis and the court should throw the case out. The court said it would hold the next preparatory hearing on December 27. (Reuters)

South Korean court begins President Park's impeachment trial

South Korean President Park Geun-hye faced mounting calls to step down as a record number of people came out on the streets in one of the largest anti-government protests seen in Seoul on Saturday.&nbsp;

The people are demanding her resignation over allegations that she allowed a friend to meddle in state affairs and wield influence.

&quot;Of course she must step down,&quot; Jung Sun-hee, a 42-year-old homemaker who attended the rally with her husband and two pre-teen daughters, said. &quot;I believe we need a new person to break through this situation, who will be better than this one.&quot;

A court in Seoul had allowed the crowd to hold a march in the evening to within a few blocks of the presidential Blue House compound. Unlike the previous protests that had turned violent, there was a largely peaceful atmosphere on Saturday&#39;s march.&nbsp;

It was third in a series of weekly mass protests that have left Park fighting for her political survival. On October 25, she had publicly apologised for seeking the advice of her friend, Choi Soon-sil, who is currently under arrest on charges of fraud and abuse of power.&nbsp;

Park&#39;s offer to work with the parliamentary opposition to form a new cabinet and relinquish some power failed to calm public anger. Prosecutors are investigating allegations that her friend had leveraged their personal relationship to coerce donations from large companies to non-profit foundations which she set up and used for personal gain. She is also accused of interfering in government affairs, despite holding no official position.

Opposition parties have also called for her resignation, indicating that there was a growing opinion in Parliament to take action to remove Park from power, but there has been no formal move yet to launch impeachment proceedings.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

Tens of thousands in Seoul are demanding her resignation over a snowballing corruption scandal

South Korean President Park Geun-hye faced mounting calls to step down as a record number of people came out on the streets in one of the largest anti-government protests seen in Seoul on Saturday. The people are demanding her resignation over allegations that she allowed a friend to meddle in state affairs and wield influence. "Of course she must step down," Jung Sun-hee, a 42-year-old homemaker who attended the rally with her husband and two pre-teen daughters, said. "I believe we need a new person to break through this situation, who will be better than this one." A court in Seoul had allowed the crowd to hold a march in the evening to within a few blocks of the presidential Blue House compound. Unlike the previous protests that had turned violent, there was a largely peaceful atmosphere on Saturday's march. It was third in a series of weekly mass protests that have left Park fighting for her political survival. On October 25, she had publicly apologised for seeking the advice of her friend, Choi Soon-sil, who is currently under arrest on charges of fraud and abuse of power. Park's offer to work with the parliamentary opposition to form a new cabinet and relinquish some power failed to calm public anger. Prosecutors are investigating allegations that her friend had leveraged their personal relationship to coerce donations from large companies to non-profit foundations which she set up and used for personal gain. She is also accused of interfering in government affairs, despite holding no official position. Opposition parties have also called for her resignation, indicating that there was a growing opinion in Parliament to take action to remove Park from power, but there has been no formal move yet to launch impeachment proceedings. (WION with inputs from agencies)

South Korean President fights for political survival as massive crowd demands Park's resignation

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South Korean court begins President Park's impeachment trial

South Korean President fights for political survival as massive crowd demands Park's resignation