Park Geun-hye

Park was elected a Grand National Party (GNP) assemblywoman for Dalseong County, Daegu, in 1998 by-election, and three more times in the same electoral district between 1998 and 2008, being the incumbent assemblywoman till April 2012. In 2012, she announced that she would not run for a constituency representative seat for the 19th election in Dalseong or anywhere else, but for a proportional representative position for the Saenuri Party instead, in order to lead the party's election campaign.[24] She was elected as a proportional representative in the April 2012 election.[25][26]

Due to the failed attempt to impeach President Roh Moo-hyun and the bribery scandal of its 2002 presidential candidate, Lee Hoi-chang (revealed in 2004), the GNP was facing a severe defeat in the 2004 general election. Park was appointed as the chairwoman of the party and led the election efforts. In the election, the GNP lost its majority position but managed to gain 121 seats, which is largely considered a great achievement under such inhospitable circumstances for the party.[27][28] As the chairwoman of the GNP, Park helped her party make significant gains in local elections and actually obtain a majority in 2006.

During the campaign, on 20 May 2006, Ji Chung-ho, a 50-year-old man with eight criminal convictions, slashed Park's face with a utility knife, causing an 11-centimeter wound that required 60 stitches and several hours of surgery.[29][30] A famous anecdote from this incident occurred when Park was hospitalized after the attack. The first word that she said to her secretary after her recovery from her wound was "How is Daejeon?" After this, the candidate from the Grand National Party won the election for mayor of the city of Daejeon despite having trailed by more than 20 percentage points in opinion polls up to the point of the attack. In addition, during her term as the GNP chairwoman between 2004 and 2006, the party won all 40 reelections and by-elections held, which was largely credited to her influence and efforts. This feat gave Park a nickname "Queen of Elections".[31][32][33]

On 12 February 2007, Park made a much-publicized visit to Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Her visit culminated in an address to a packed audience at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, where she said she wanted to save Korea and advocated a stronger relationship between South Korea and the United States.[34][35]

Park hoped to emulate her father's success by becoming the presidential nominee of the Grand National Party.[26] She eventually lost to Lee Myung-bak by a narrow margin. Lee had a commanding lead at the beginning of the primary season, but Park was able to narrow the gap through allegations of Lee's corruption. Park won the "party members' bid", but she lost the "national bid", which is a larger percentage of the total presidential bid.

After the 2007 presidential election, President Lee Myung-bak formed a government of mostly close supporters.[36] Park's supporters argued that this was a kind of political reprisal and that they should secede from the Grand National Party.[37] Eventually, they formed parties named Pro-Park Coalition and Solidarity for Pro-Park Independents (친박 무소속 연대; Chin Park Musosok Yeondae). Park herself did not join them, but indirectly supported them by announcing "I hope these people will come back alive." After the mass secession, the rebels announced that they would rejoin GNP after the general election, but the GNP prohibited it. In the following 2008 general election, the rebels won 26 seats: 14 from the Pro-Park Coalition and 12 as independents. Together, they played a pivotal role in the GNP's narrow majority. Park continually insisted that GNP should allow the return of her supporters. As of 2011, most of these rebels had returned to the GNP, resulting in approximately 50 to 60 assembly members who support Park out of 171 in the GNP.

As a response to the dwindling approval rating of the GNP, the party formed an emergency committee and changed the name of the political party from the Grand National Party to the Saenuri Party, meaning "New Frontier" Party.[24] On 19 December 2011, Park was appointed as the chairwoman of GNP's Emergency Committee, the de facto leader of the party.

The Saenuri Party achieved a surprise win against the opposing Democratic United Party in the 2012 General Election, winning 152 seats and retaining its majority position. Because of the corruption scandals of the Lee administration revealed before the election, the Saenuri Party was widely expected to win no more than 100 seats.[38] During the 13-day campaign period, Park traveled about 7,200 km (4,500 mi) around South Korea, visiting more than 100 constituencies.[39] It is the consensus of Korean news media and political experts that the most important factor leading to Saenuri Party's victory was Park's leadership. For this reason, the 2012 election was often dubbed the "return of the Queen of Election".[38][40] Saenuri's defeat in the populous Seoul metropolitan area in this election, however, revealed the limitation of Park's political influence.[38]

Park had been the leading candidate for the 2012 presidential election in every national-level poll in South Korea between 2008, when the Lee Myung-bak administration began, and September 2011, with an approval rating of 25% to 45%, more than twice that of the second candidate. Park's approval rating was highest when the 2008 National Assembly election showed her strong influence and lowest in early 2010 as a result of her political stance against the Lee administration in Sejong City issue.[41] Park also benefited from a public image of standing aloofly above the fray of politics.[42] In September 2011, Ahn Cheol-soo, a former venture IT businessman and the Dean of Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology at Seoul National University, emerged as a strong independent candidate for the presidency. In national-level presidential polls in September 2011, Ahn and Park Geun Hye closely competed for the status of front-runner, with Park losing the top seat in some polls for the first time since 2008.[43]

After her victory in the 2012 General Election, Park's approval rating increased significantly. In a national-level survey by Mono Research on 30 August[44] Park was the top presidential candidate with an approval rating of 45.5% when competing with all potential candidates, and according to another recent national survey result, had a higher approval rating (50.6%) than Ahn (43.9%) in a two-way competition with him as of 11 September.[45] On 10 July, Park formally announced her 2012 presidential bid at the Time Square, Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul. In this event, she emphasized the right to pursue happiness, a democratic economy, and customized welfare services for the Korean people.[46]

The opposing Democratic Party elected Moon Jae-in as its presidential candidate on 17 September, while Ahn Cheol-soo announced his presidential bid on 19 September. Although still a leading candidate, Park had a lower approval rating than both Ahn and Moon when engaged in two-way competition, according to a 22 September national survey.[47] She was elected as the President of the Republic of Korea on 19 December 2012 with the approval of 51.6% of Korean voters.[48]

In 2017, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) admitted that it had conducted an illicit campaign to influence the 2012 presidential election, mobilizing teams of experts in psychological warfare to ensure that the conservative candidate, Park Geun-hye, beat her liberal rival Moon Jae-in.[49]

Park (center) smiles and shows a portrait drawn by a girl in Cheong Wa Dae, Seoul, at Children's Day 5 May 2013

In a 2012 survey by Korean Research assessing the political stance of 12 potential presidential candidates of South Korea, Park was considered the most conservative candidate.[24][50] Her conservative, market-oriented political stance was well reflected in her campaign pledge for 2008 presidential bid to cut taxes, reduce regulation, and establish strong law and order.[51] Since 2009, however, Park started to focus more on welfare issues, advocating customized welfare services to the South Korean people.[51]

Park was well known for her strict adherence to political promises. In 2010, for example, she successfully stopped the Lee administration's attempt to cancel the plan to establish Sejong City, a new national center of administration, arguing that the plan was a promise made to the people. This conflict between Park and the Lee Administration cost her a considerable decrease in her approval rating at the time.[52] In 2012, Park also vowed to construct a new airport in the southeastern region, a 2008 presidential campaign promise made by GNP but cancelled in 2011, despite claims of economic infeasibility of the plan.[53]

The administrative vision of Park's new government was "a new era of hope and happiness". The five Administrative Goals of the government were "a jobs-centered creative economy", "tailored employment and welfare", "creativity-oriented education and cultural enrichment", "a safe and united society" and "strong security measures for sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula". The Park Geun-hye administration planned to create a trustworthy, clean, and capable government by carrying out these goals, related strategies, and tasks.[54]

Park chose not to vote in the 2017 South Korean presidential election.[55]

President Park on inauguration day, 25 February 2013

Park became the 11th president of South Korea on 25 February 2013. At midnight, she took over all presidential authorities including the prerogative of supreme command of South Korea's armed forces from her predecessor Lee Myung-bak. In her inauguration speech at the National Assembly building, Park spoke of her plan to open a new era of hope through "economic prosperity, people's happiness, and cultural enrichment". She particularly expressed her hope that North Korea would give up its nuclear arms and walk on the path of peace and mutual development, and declared that the foundation for a happy era of unification in which all Korean people will be able to enjoy prosperity and freedom and realize their dreams would be built through the Korean Peninsula Trust-building Process. In her inauguration speech, Park presented four guiding principles to realize her administrative vision: economic prosperity, people's happiness, cultural enrichment, and establishment of a foundation for peaceful unification.[56] Park's inauguration ceremony was the largest one in South Korean history with 70,000 participants. Diplomatic representatives in Korea, as well as high-level delegates specially sent from 24 countries around the world including Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, U.S. National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon, Taiwanese Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, and former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, also participated in the event to congratulate Park.[57][58]

The goal of the newly launched Park Geun-hye Administration for governing state affairs was to open "a new era of hope and happiness for all the people". Park avowed that South Korea would break away from its long-pursued development model that centered around the nation, and shift the focus of government administration from the state to individual citizens. Through this process the structure of co-prosperity would be created, in which citizens became happy and national development occurred as a result. Park's administrative vision and basic principles for governing the nation were concretely outlined in her policy plans for the economy, society, welfare, diplomacy, and unification. The administration's keywords in managing state affairs were "people", "happiness", "trust", "co-prosperity" and "principle".[59]

Right after taking office, Park restructured the Blue House and government organization to carry out her administrative vision. The Office of National Security at the Blue House, Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries were newly launched, and the seat of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs was revived. The Chief of the National Security Office would act as a "control tower" for diplomatic, security, and national defense issues, and the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs for economic, social, and welfare issues.[60]

Park Geun-hye at a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on 7 May 2013

After taking office, Park met with John Kerry and U.S. President Barack Obama. Park's trip to the United States in May 2013 was her first foreign trip after taking office.[61]

Like many of her predecessors, Park maintained a close relationship with the U.S., which has over 20,000 soldiers stationed in South Korea. During her visit to the U.S., she addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress, where she called for a united front against any North Korean provocations. Park also called for a strong global relationship between South Korea and the United States.[62]

Park assessed the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and emphasized that deterrence capabilities were the most important factor for security. Thus, Park considered the American-South Korean alliance as the most successful one in the world. She hoped the American-South Korean relationship can be upgraded from a comprehensive strategic alliance to a global partnership.[63]

Park visited the United States on her first overseas trip as president. She traveled to Washington, D.C., New York City, and Los Angeles on 5–9 May 2013.[64]

During summit talks in May at the White House, Presidents Park and Obama adopted a joint declaration for the American-South Korean alliance and discussed ways to further develop the bilateral relations in a future-forward manner. Also, two leaders discussed ways to promote cooperation in building peace in the Northeast Asian region and strength the partnership between Seoul and Washington.[65]

The two leaders of South Korea and the United States agreed to adopt a joint statement on comprehensive energy cooperation to build a foundation for a future growth engine and establish a policy cooperation committee on information and communication technology. In addition, Park urged her U.S. counterpart to expand the annual U.S. visa quota for South Korean professionals in order to promote co-development of both economies.[65]

In particular, the "Joint declaration in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America" adopted by South Korea and the United States will become a meaningful document looking back at the past six decades of the alliance and spelling out a new direction for the development of bilateral relations over the coming decade.[66]

North Korea had engaged in provocations such as violating a UN Security Council resolution and firing a long-range missile on 12 December 2012, just before 19 December presidential election. After Park was elected, North Korea conducted its third nuclear test 12 February 2013, nullified the non-aggression agreements between the two countries on 8 March and withdrew North Korean workers from the Kaesong Industrial Complex on 8 April.[67] Park maintained her stance that South Korea will not succumb to the North's provocations and threats, and will endeavor to elicit policy coordination towards North Korea with major powers such as the United States, China and the UN.[68] Her response to North Korean issues gained the support of many South Koreans and also the United States, China, and Russia, and played a significant role in the unanimous adoption by the UN Security Council of Resolution 2094 regarding North Korea on 7 March 2013.[69] Due to Park's response and the international community's actions, on 6 June North Korea ceased provocations and threats towards the South and suggested holding discussions on reopening the Kaesong Industrial Complex.[70] Park said that peace and unification on the Korean peninsula is the wish of all 70 million Koreans and that as president she will do her utmost to meet such a goal. As well, "the ultimate objective of reunification efforts is to improve the quality of life of people in both Koreas, to further expand freedom and human rights, and [from there] build a prosperous Korean Peninsula."[71] She later stated, "to open a new era of peace and hope on the peninsula, North Korea needs to accept her administration's trust-building policy initiative".[72][73]

Park's policy vision and initiative on issues concerning North Korea and unification are reflected in her Korean Peninsula Trust-building Process. The Ministry of Unification has announced a new vision statement "realizing a new unified Korea that ensures everyone's happiness". The administrative tasks for this cause include normalizing inter-Korean relations through a trust-building process, embarking on small-scale unification projects that will lead to a complete integration of the two Koreas, and taking practical measures to prepare for unification by strengthening unification capabilities.[74] According to Park, peaceful unification will be achieved in a three-stage unification initiative: starting from securing peace, going through economic integration, and finally reaching political integration. To achieve sustainable peace by the initiative, the new administration will offer humanitarian assistance for the people in North Korea, inter-Korean exchange and cooperation in economic, social, and cultural areas, and will apply 'Vision Korea project' for establishing a single economic community in the Korean Peninsula, conditioned on sufficient mutual trust and progress in denuclearizing North Korea.[75]

Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Beijing, 27 June 2013

On 27–30 June 2013, Park visited China with a South Korean delegation, where she met with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president. During the meetings, Park explained the government's stance on North Korea and gained his support.[76]

On 13 November 2013, Park held an extended meeting with President Vladimir Putin, whose visit to South Korea was the first among leaders of four major powers including the United States, China, and Japan. During the meeting, Park and Putin had a comprehensive and productive dialogue with a focus on improving economic relations such as logistics cooperation projects (through Russia and North Korea), expanding people-to-people exchanges, and strengthening political ties between South Korea and Russia. Park, especially, emphasized on making preparations to produce an outcome that corresponds to common interests by combining Korea's Eurasian Initiative and Russia's Asia-Pacific Policy. After the summit, both presidents issued a joint communique and held a joint press conference.[77][78] Earlier, Park attended the G-20 Summit in September 2013 at St. Petersburg, where she met Putin for a separate dialogue discussing economic cooperation and seeking support on North Korean issues. It marked the first Korea–Russia summit talk since Park's inauguration.[79] When Park met with Russian Minister for the Development of Russian Far East Viktor Ishaev, who headed the Russian delegation to Park's inaugural ceremony, she stated that Russia is one of Korea's key strategic partners, and the successful launch of the Naro rocket is the outcome of mutually beneficial relations and demonstrates that relations will grow stronger in the future. She also noted that Russia's active participation in the six-party talks will contribute to alleviating tension on the Korean Peninsula.[80]

Park delivering the keynote speech during an economic policy meeting on December 27 at the Sejong Government Complex.

Park announced her plan to build a "Creative Economy" on 5 June 2013, representing her vision for economic revival and job creation.[81] In April, Park said "Timing is very important for our economic policy, jobs and livelihood mainly ordinary people should organize a supplementary budget in a timely manner."[82] On 8 April 2014, Park signed the Australia–Korea Free Trade Agreement with Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott.[83]

Park proposed the eradication of "Four Major Social Evils" (사 대회악: "sa dae hwe ak") – sexual violence, domestic violence, school violence, and unsafe food. Statistics show that sexual violence and domestic violence are increasing in these years. Without referring to statistical data, aggravating school violence or food safety is a public concern in South Korea.[84][85] She also launched the National Unity Committee on 17 June with the purpose to advise the president in the process of resolving various conflicts in South Korean society and establishing a culture of co-existence and co-prosperity. Former Democratic United Party Advisor Han Kwang -ok was named as the head.[86]

On 18 May 2013, Park attended the 33rd anniversary of the Gwangju massacre, and expressed sorrow for the victims' family members.[87]

Park proposed three steps to North Korea to help move toward the reunification of the Korean Peninsula, on 28 March in Dresden during her state visit to Germany.[88] She stated that "Starting with jointly managing rivers and forests running through the two Koreas, we need to expand joint projects that benefit both sides. In that respect, I hope North Korea will attend the UN Convention on Biological Diversity conference to be held in South Korean city of Pyeongchang in October."[89] In May 2014, Park warned that a new nuclear test by North Korea could lead to "a nuclear domino effect", that might provide its neighbors with a pretext to arm themselves with nuclear weapons.[90]

On 18 May 2014, Park announced South Korea's "plans to break up its coastguard" after failing to respond well during the MV Sewol ferry disaster.[91] According to Park, "investigation and information roles would be transferred to the South Korea National Police while the rescue and salvage operation and ocean security roles would be transferred to the Department for National Safety, not to be confused with the Korean Ministry of Security and Public Administration, which will be newly established".[92] On 19 November 2014, the Korea Coast Guard and National Emergency Management Agency ceased control as the Ministry of Public Safety and Security was founded at the same day.[93]

On 26 May 2015, Park urged the head of the Asian Development Bank to cooperate with South Korea and the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank[94] after South Korea had officially applied to join the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in late March 2015.[95]

Park Geun-hye being welcomed by Iran's business minister, Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh in Mehrabad Airport

On 1 May 2016, Park became the first South Korean president to visit Iran.[96][97] She was at the head of a 236-member delegation of businessmen and entrepreneurs during a three-day visit to Tehran to discuss bilateral trade and other matters of mutual interest.[98] She met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and held talks with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.[99] The two countries also signed 19 basic agreements to expand mutual cooperation over a variety of areas.[100] Earlier, Iran's President Rouhani emphasized that Iran and South Korea are set to boost their trade volume from the current $6 billion to $18 billion.

Park suffered a serious setback in the 2016 general elections on 13 April 2016, as the Saenuri Party lost both its majority and its status as first party in the National Assembly.[101] Park had been criticized for her involvement in the elections and the party's nomination process,[102][103] and other Saenuri members blamed the pro-Park faction in the party for the defeat.[104] Park loyalists fared badly in constituency elections.[105] The result was seen to hinder the chances of Park's passing her proposed economic reforms,[106] and in the aftermath of the results the conservative The Chosun Ilbo stated that Park's "lame duck period has started earlier than any other administration in the past".[107]

Park Geun-hye's Presidential Job Approval Rating

Approval ratings by age

In July 2013, public support for Park's method of governing state affairs reached up to 63 percent, higher than the percentage of the votes she had won in the presidential election, which was 52 percent.[108] The Korean media suggested that such a high level of support came from Park's principled North Korea policy, constructive outcomes from visits to the United States and China, and distancing from internal political disputes.[109]

By January 2015, Park's approval rating had fallen to 30 percent, partly due to the sinking of MV Sewol and disputes with North Korea.[110] By September 2015, Park's approval had increased to 54 percent due to her diplomacy that defused a military standoff with North Korea,[111] but in the aftermath of her party's 2016 election loss, her ratings fell to 31.5 percent, plunging 8.1 percentage points compared to the week before the election.[112]

On 4 November 2016, Park's ratings fell to 4–5% as details of her relationship with Choi Soon-sil were investigated and exposed in what became the 2016 South Korean political scandal.[113][114][115]

Prosecutors sought a 30-year prison term for Park, along with a fine of ₩188.5 billion (US$110,579,397). On 6 April 2018, a three-judge panel of the Central District Court in Seoul sentenced Park to 24 years in prison and a fine of ₩18 billion (US$16,798,683), finding her guilty of 16 out of 18 charges brought before her.[121][122][123][124]

In June 2018, three former NIS directors (Lee Byung-kee, Lee Byung-ho, and Nam Jae-joon) who served in the Park administration were found guilty of bribing, related to the 2016 Park Geun-hye scandals. They illegally transferred money from the NIS budget to Park's presidential office. This illegally obtained money was used by Park and her associates for private use and to pay bribes.[125] On 24 August 2018, Park's sentence was increased to 25 years in prison.[10]

In July 2020, an appellate court slashed Park's prison sentence to 20 years after a retrial, taking into account that she "received little personal benefit" from her offences, and Park was also cleared of charges of alleged extortion from conglomerates paying donations to foundations of Choi Soon-sil.[126] [127] In January 2021 South Korea's top court upheld the 20-year prison sentence, bringing an end to the legal process.[128]

Park had been often criticized for being the "daughter of a dictator" (Park Chung-hee)[129][130] and for not actively supporting the Lee administration by supporters of Lee Myung-bak. A national-level poll conducted in July 2012 by a conservative newspaper reported that 59% of participants responded they did not believe Park was a "daughter of a dictator" while 36% agreed with the characterization.[131] Park Chung-Hee's status as a dictator became a contested topic after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. GNP party elites saw this as their chance to revitalize Park Chung-Hee's image, focusing on South Korea's economic growth during his administration, thus steadily changing his public perception.[132]

During a recent interview with the Cheongju broadcast station CJB, Park commented regarding her stance that her father's May 16 coup was a "revolution to save the country" by stating, "I don't think it's the place of politicians to be fighting over whether [the events of 1961] were a 'coup d'etat' or a 'revolution'."[133] In a July 2012 survey, 50% of respondents answered that they disagreed with Park's assessment that her father's 1961 coup was "unavoidable, the best possible choice, and an advisable decision", as opposed to 37% that agreed.[134] From another survey conducted in July 2012, 42% of respondents agreed with her opinion that her father's 1961 coup was "unavoidable", while 46% disagreed.[135]

Because Park inherited strong regional and generational support from her father, as well as the legacy of his economic success, Park's opponents used her father as criticism against her.[132]

Park has faced much scrutiny over an educational foundation, Jeongsoo Scholarship Foundation, formerly known as Buil (in reference to the stock it controls in the newspaper "Busan Ilbo"), which her father, and later she, headed. Its original owners claimed in court they were forced to turn it over to her father.[136]

Liberty Korea Party assemblyman Nam Kyung-pil criticized the Park-centered nature of the party, regarding its preparation for the 2012 presidential election, and stated, "If we keep seeing the same situation where Park Geun-hye gives a press conference before a general meeting of lawmakers is held, and what she says then gets decided on as the party's position, then the public is going to think democracy has disappeared from the party."[137]

Furthermore, some have said Park's behavior in the lead-up to 2012 presidential election was a mixture of trend-following and corner-cutting—a stark contrast with the vehement insistence on the principle that she showed when she opposed a revision of the plan for a multifunctional administrative city in Sejong City. For instance, Yim Tae-hee, another presidential candidate of the party, pointed to Park's voting down of a motion to arrest Chung Doo-un, a lawmaker implicated with bribery related to saving banks. Another candidate, Ahn Sang-soo, accused Park of "saying one thing yesterday and another today".[137]

Park fired Yoon Chang-jung, a Blue House spokesman who was alleged by Washington police to have committed sexual assault against a young woman hired as an intern at the South Korean Embassy in Washington during Park's first visit to the United States.[138] Park has been criticized for picking the wrong people for senior government posts.[139]

Park has been criticized for holding press conferences with questions and answers submitted in advance. By 11 January 2015, she had held four press conferences since taking office in February 2013. Among the four press conferences, three of them were public speeches without questions and answers. Even in the remaining press conference, the questions were submitted in advance and she read prepared answers. Her opponents labeled her as "No communication" (불통, Bultong).[140][141]

On 15 November 2015, around 80,000 anti-government protesters clashed with government forces on the streets of Seoul, demanding that Park step down, with many of the protesters chanting "Park Geun-hye, step down". The rally was triggered by Park's adopting business-friendly labour policies and a decision to require middle and high schools to use only state-issued history textbooks in classes starting in 2017,[142] combined with plans to make labour markets more flexible by giving employers more leeway in dismissing workers. Security forces fired tear gas and sprayed water cannons into the crowd when protesters attempted to break through police barricades.[143]

In the wake of the April 2014 capsizing of the Sewol ferry, public outcry arose over the government's handling of the situation. In response, the Park administration established a commission to monitor and prosecute social media critics of Park.[144] Tatsuya Kato, Japanese journalist who was a Seoul Bureau chief of South Korea at Sankei Shimbun was indicted on charges of defamation for reporting the relationship between Park and Choi Soon-sil's husband, Chung Yoon-hoi, by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea after the MV Sewol sank.[145][146]

On 25 June 2015 Park said that "Betrayal which breaks the trust shouldn't be accepted in politics and this should be punished by election with people's own hands". This mention was aimed to Yu Seungmin who was a member of Saenuri Party. Her statement was criticized by professor Jo Guk and politician Moon Jae-in because it was intended to affect Yu's election, which is forbidden by the Public Official Election Act. However, the National Election Commission decided not to treat Park's mention as a violation of the Act.[147]

Park Geun-hye at a breakfast meeting with chaebol business magnates Lee Kun-hee and Chung Mong-koo

In late October 2016, investigations into Park's relationship with Choi Soon-sil, daughter of the late Church of Eternal Life cult leader and Park's mentor Choi Tae-min, began.[148][149] Several news media including JTBC and the Hankyoreh reported that Choi, who has no official government position, had access to confidential documents and information for the president, and acted as a close confidant for the president. Choi and Park's senior staff including both Ahn Jong-bum and Jeong Ho-sung used their influence to extort ₩77.4 billion (approximately $75 million) from Korean chaebols—family-owned large business conglomerates—and set up two culture and sports-related foundations, Mir and K-sports foundations.[150][151][152] Choi is also accused of having influenced Ewha Womans University to change their admission criteria in order for her daughter Chung Yoo-ra to be given a place there.[153] Ahn Jong-bum and Jeong Ho-sung, top presidential aides, were arrested for abuse of power and helping Choi; they denied wrongdoing and claimed that they were simply following President Park's orders.[154]

On 25 October 2016, Park publicly acknowledged her close ties with Choi. On 28 October, Park dismissed key members of her top office staff while her approval ratings fell to 4%.[115] Her approval rating ranged from 1 to 3% for Korean citizens under 60 years of age, while it remained higher, at 13%, for the over-60 age group.[155] It was the worst ever approval rate in Korean history and is worse than the 6% approval rating of former President Kim Young-sam, who was widely blamed for forcing the Korean economy into the 1997 Asian financial crisis.[113][114][156] The controversy led to mass protests and rallies in October and November 2016 calling for her resignation.[157] On 12 November, more than 1 million citizens participated in the protests at Gwanghwamun Square close to the presidential residence demanding Park's resignation or impeachment.[158] On 19 November, another 1 million people participated in the national protest after Park refused to help in the investigation.[159][160]

Candlelight protest against Park Geun-hye in Seoul, 7 January 2017

Park then fired a number of her cabinet members and the prime minister. In particular, the sacking of the prime minister, Hwang Kyo-ahn, resulted in controversy, due to the claim that his firing was carried out via a text message.[161][162] The Supreme Prosecutors' Office of Korea (SPO), in laying charges against Choi and two former presidential aides, alleged that Park colluded with the three in certain criminal activities. The president would be questioned by prosecutors, the first time this has occurred with a serving South Korean president.[163][164][165] Following the scandal, there was a series of massive demonstrations that started in the first week of November 2016.[166] On 29 November 2016, Park offered to resign as president, and invited the National Assembly to arrange a transfer of power. The opposition parties rejected the offer, accusing Park of attempting to avoid the process of impeachment.[167]

The National Assembly instead filed a motion for impeachment, which was put to a vote on 9 December 2016[168] and passed with 234 supporters.[169][170][171] Due to the ratification of her impeachment proposal, her presidential powers and duties were suspended, and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn assumed those powers and duties as acting president.[7] Park was finally ousted from office by the Constitutional Court on 10 March 2017. The decision was unanimous, 8–0 in favour of the impeachment, as announced shortly thereafter.[172] On 26 March 2017, South Korean prosecutors announced they were seeking an arrest warrant against Park.[173] This warrant was granted by the Seoul Central District Court on 31 March 2017 and Park was arrested later that day, and was later sentenced to 25 years in prison.[174][175]

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