Mass protest in Seoul demands ouster of Park
Hundreds of thousands of protestors marched in Seoul for the sixth-straight week yesterday to demand the ouster and arrest of scandal-hit President Park Geun-Hye ahead of an impeachment vote in parliament.
Organisers of the candlelight rally in the South Korean capital said it was the biggest protest so far with a turnout of 1.6 million. Police put the number at 320,000.
The latest in a series of massive anti-Park demonstrations came just hours after opposition parties filed an impeachment motion that will be put to a vote by lawmakers on Friday.
Whether the motion is adopted or not, Park is firmly on course to become the first democratically-elected South Korean president not to complete a full, five-year term.
The 64-year-old stands accused of colluding with an old friend who has been formally indicted for attempted fraud and abuse of power.
Along with the now-normal slogans for Park to step down, there were growing calls at yesterday's rally for her to face criminal charges, arrest and imprisonment.
Dozens of life-size cardboard cut-outs of the president showed her wearing a jail uniform and bound by ropes.
While the protestors want her out immediately, the political establishment is struggling to find a similar unity of purpose.
The impeachment motion introduced in the early hours of yesterday morning carried 171 signatures -- accounting for every legislator from the three opposition parties and independents.
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