South Korea’s president says she is willing to resign

South Korea's embattled president Park Geun-hye says she is willing to resign and allow the country's National Assembly determine her fate, but the opposition says she is trying to find a way to avoid impeachment.

South Korean investigators are currently trying to question Ms Park, whose five-year term ends in February 2018, as part of a fraud and influence-peddling probe into her spiritual adviser and close confidante, Choi Soon-sil.

“I will entrust the National Assembly with (the task of) making decisions on issues, including the shortening of my presidential term,” she said during a five-minute televised address, the Yonhap news agency reported.

There have been nationwide calls for her to resign and hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets for the past five weeks to protest about the scandal. The president’s approval rating is currently at an unprecedented low of four per cent.

“I will step down from my position according to the law once a way is formed to pass on the administration in a stable manner that will also minimise political unrest and vacuum after ruling and opposition parties’ discussion,” she said.

Raids

Ms Choi has been indicted on suspicion of using her close 40-year friendship with the president to acquire 77.4 billion won (€62million) in donations for various charities from some of South Korea’s biggest “chaebols”, or industrial conglomerates.

The probe has seen raids on the offices of carmaker Hyundai, telecom giant KT and the retailer Lotte.

Ms Park denied any involvement in corrupt practices, stressing that during her 18-year political career, she has never pursued “any personal interests.” But she again apologised and said her heart ached for her own carelessness in managing her close relationships.

“I am now putting everything down,” she said. “What I only hope for is that the Republic of Korea will get out of this confusion and be back on track as soon as possible.”

Opposition parties have drawn up a draft impeachment motion and want to put it to a vote at the National Assembly by the end of the week.

The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Choo Mi-ae, said the public wanted her to bow out “unconditionally and immediately” and accused her of making a political gambit with the speech to avoid impeachment. As long as Ms Park is president, she cannot be prosecuted.

Mr Choo said Ms Park had “shifted the onus” to parliament without clearly mentioning whether she will leave the presidential office, the Blue House, and said the speech “did not carry any (sincere) regret or contrition on her part.

“In a nutshell, it was aimed to confuse (political circles) ahead of her impeachment or a gambit to avert impeachment,” Ms Choo said.

Ms Park’s friendship with Ms Choi, a former aide, dates to an era when Ms Park served as acting first lady after her mother was killed by an assassin’s bullet intended for her father, then-president Park Chung-hee. Five years later, in 1979, Ms Park’s father was murdered by his disgruntled spy chief.