[Editorial] Cool head

The scandal surrounding Choi Soon-sil and President Park Geun-hye is battering the nation. Many Korean citizens, already in a state of shock, anger and despair, are fearful of what is to come. This is a crisis not only for Park, but for the entire nation.

As more allegations continue to surface that the president let Choi exert undue influence over key state affairs, the public is becoming more restless.

The recent petitions calling for Park to step down and street marches by angry college students and professors are reminiscent of the pro-democracy movements against past military dictators, including Park’s father -- the late President Park Chung-hee.

When Rep. Yoo Seong-min, who was once a close aide to Park, said “This is not a nation,” many nodded in agreement.

This public sentiment was highlighted last weekend after an estimated 10,000 people held a candlelight protest in Seoul demanding the president step down. About 10 more rallies occurred in major cities across the country.

The protesters said they felt ashamed to have such a bad president and that she must go -- either by voluntary resignation or impeachment.   

No one can predict how this crisis will unfold.

Who could have predicted that in 2004 the then President Roh Moo-hyun would be impeached by the National Assembly over neutrality in elections and corrupt relatives and then suspended for two months?

Even though Choi has returned to Korea, apparently under prodding from Park, and has agreed to be questioned, more revelations are expected to surface in the coming weeks.

There is no doubt that Park, Choi and anyone who colluded with them should face punishment.

But the last thing we should do is allow it to paralyze our political system, which would further plunge the country into uncertainty. Any political chaos would hit the already struggling economy hard. 

Most importantly we cannot afford to jeopardize our security by giving North Korea the opportunity to take advantage of our weak political system. 

In essence, the crisis was laid by Park and much of how the crisis evolves depends on Park’s actions. She has sacked five of her closest aides, including those who are suspected of having acted as liaisons between her and Choi. However, this will not be enough to appease the anger and frustration of the public.

She needs to do some genuine soul-searching, make a sincere apology and punish those who broke the law. This includes Choi.

What is important for now is that we learn from previous mistakes -- the chaos caused by the assassination of Park Chung-hee by his intelligence chief in 1979 and the impeachment of Roh in 2004 must not be repeated. As the crisis unfolds, we must remain calm.

In this sense, it is a relief the weekend protests generally proceeded peacefully. It was also prudent and sensible that the largest opposition parties -- the Minjoo Party of Korea and the People’s Party -- and major potential presidential candidates stayed away from the anti-Park rallies. Opposition leaders also refrained from mentioning resignation or impeachment. 

Park, who is suffering from the lowest approval ratings since she took office in February 2013, has already lost much of her political leadership and prestige to the degree that the ruling party has called on her to accept a nonpartisan prime minister and a neutral Cabinet that includes opposition members.

At any rate, living for more than one year with a president in a vegetative state would be painful, but it still would be better than falling into anarchy. Constitutional order should be safeguarded at any rate and all need to have a cool head in that regard.