South Korean President Finally Admits Defeat, Asks Parliament to Arrange Her Exit

Controversial South Korean Park Geun-hye said that she has sought the help of parliament to arrange her exit.

President Park has sparked outrage after she reportedly allowed a long-time friend to influence political decisions in exchange for personal gain. A growing number of Koreans have asked her to resign from her post amid an investigation, The Guardian reported.

The South Korean president spoke on national television and asked the national assembly to make a new deadline to end her scandalous presidency. Her single five-year term is not over until 2018, but with corruption and cronyism issues, there seems to be no way to mend her administration.

“I will leave to parliament everything about my future including shortening of my term,” Park said. “Once lawmakers come up with measures to transfer power in a way that minimizes any power vacuum and chaos in governance, I will step down.”

Park’s public address came shortly after another weekend of protests in Seoul and other South Korean cities. Protesters called for her immediate resignation after she was linked to the scandal of her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil.

Choi is accused of extorting huge amounts of money from several South Korean companies. She is also suspected of soliciting business donations for a non-profit fund and used her friendship with President Park as leverage.

Parliament is due to discuss on Friday whether President Park should face impeachment. Meanwhile, the opposition said that Park should “honorably” step down before it even reaches that point.

According to another report from BBC, Park said that she is “heartbroken” by the political woes that surround her but has refused to leave her position twice.

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