South Korea Constitutional Court begins impeachment hearings for president

South Korea’s Constitutional Court has commenced deliberations on a legislative impeachment vote against the country’s embattled President Park Geun-hye over a major corruption scandal.

According to media reports, the court’s first preparatory hearing on the high-profile case convened on Thursday.

South Korean lawmakers had voted by a large margin to impeach Park on December 9.

The first female president of the East Asian country has been accused of involvement in an influence-peddling case, in which she allegedly colluded with a long-time confidante Choi Soon-sil to pressure major corporations to contribute money to non-profit foundations that supported presidential initiatives.

Park did not appear in the Thursday hearing, during which the judges also decided to admit for consideration documents prepared by prosecutors — an early setback for Park’s defense team, which had tried to block them.

Park, whose father ruled South Korea for 18 years after seizing power in a 1961 coup, has denied misconduct in the case but nevertheless apologized for being careless in her ties with Choi, who is facing her own trial.

If the Constitutional Court confirms the impeachment vote, a process for which it has 180 days, Park will become the first elected president in the country to be forced out of office.

SS