Time is up. The nation confirmed over the weekend that President Park Geun-hye has already been “impeached by citizens,” as the National Assembly fine-tunes plans to propose and vote on an impeachment motion.
Most South Koreans no longer regard Park as their president, with polls showing that 24 out of every 25 citizens do not support her. On Saturday, about 1.9 million people (or 3.6 percent of the population) took to the streets nationwide in a historic rally to demand that she quit.
It is hard to deny that the country is approaching election mode, though the current primary demand -- of both conservative and liberal supporters -- is either Park’s resignation or her fast impeachment.
There are numerous rumors surrounding presidential hopefuls. Saenuri Party Chairman Lee Jung-hyun’s announcement that he would resign as the ruling party leader in late December has raised eyebrows as it coincides with the end of Ban Ki-moon’s tenure as UN Secretary-General.
There are also speculations that President Park is considering resigning in the coming weeks to coincide with Ban finishing his UN post on Dec. 31. Saenuri floor leader Chung Jin-suk is said to be struggling to delay the timing of the impeachment bill suggested by the parliamentary opposition.
Furthermore, rumors have been circulating that the two Saenuri leaders, Lee and Chung, had to reverse their colleagues’ earlier request to revamp the embattled party as a stalling tactic. In order to prove the rumors false, Lee has to explain why he set his resignation date for Dec. 21.
If Park is really postponing her resignation so as to pass the baton in a timely banner to Ban, Saenuri could face tougher backlash from voters. The party’s approval rating has dropped and is now trailing behind the runner-up opposition People’s Party.
In a way, the 2017 presidential race has already kicked off -- the activities and remarks by presidential hopefuls, such as Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea and Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party, are gaining attention. Ban has also signaled that a campaign is drawing near.
As for Park, the only thing she can do for the people is yield her authority as quickly as possible. One recommendation for Park is for her to designate her departure date by delivering her last televised apology.
Her speech, if any, should be made early this week at the latest: the prosecution has called her to coordinate with a face-to-face investigation, with the deadline of Tuesday as an ultimatum. The Assembly is considering proposing the impeachment motion Wednesday.
An offer to quit on a designated date would nullify the impeachment move and make it possible for her to ask the prosecution to further delay her summons.
There is a high possibility that citizens will continue to stage rallies calling on the Constitutional Court to carry out a fast-track procedure to drive her out. Court President Park Han-chul may also choose to quickly accept the bill with eight other justices, after it has been passed by the Assembly, before his term ends on Jan. 31, 2017.
Her ouster is a matter of time, despite the uncertainty, and voters are closely watching the movements of potential presidential candidates.
One noteworthy issue is a constitutional revision involving the tenure of the nation’s president. Polls show that revision to a four-year, two-term presidency from the current five-year single-term is preferred by a large portion of citizens. Some politicians such as Kim Moo-sung of Saenuri are raising the necessity of shifting to an Assembly-initiated Cabinet system.
A revision could be pushed for on the basis of public consensus. But any amendment to bring about Park’s exit from office -- such as by slashing her term by one year or some political maneuvering by presidential hopefuls -- cannot be tolerated.
Park, who might be the main culprit in the corruption scandal, has no right to enjoy an honorary retreat. Her alleged law violations are mostly attributable to her breaching personal ethics.
Amendments, if necessary, should be discussed under the next administration through profound research, over sufficient time.
