impeachment

Haeryun Kang
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Will Park Geun-hye Pay Her Lawyers?

Former president Park Geun-hye hired a total of 14 lawyers to defend her in the huge political scandal that led to her impeachment — and now incarceration. “How did Park Geun-hye manage her colossal legal fees? By not paying her lawyers,” broadcaster TV Chosun 

Jieun Choi
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Pilgrimage to an Assassin's Grave

On the southeastern outskirts of Seoul is a modest cemetery where a defaced gravestone stands at the top of a steep slope. The grave has seen an unusually high number of visitors in the past few months, despite its out-of-the-way location and lack of sign posts. Bouquets of fresh

Seohoi Stephanie Park
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The Price of Democracy

Demonstrations calling for the ouster of then-president Park Geun-hye began in late October. Huge “candlelight rallies” continued almost every Saturday for the next 21 weeks, with fireworks, rock concerts on professionally built stages, banners and, of course, candles (both wax and LED). Portable toilets

Haeryun Kang
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Awesome Humor on Display at Park Geun-hye's Ouster

Even ten years from now, many who were in South Korea on Mar. 10, 2017, will remember how they were feeling that morning, when South Korea’s Constitutional Court upheld the December impeachment and formally removed former president Park Geun-hye from office. Many yelled with joy,

Se-Woong Koo
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Park Geun-hye Is Ousted. She Will Fight to Survive, Again.

Park GH soon to arrive at her house in Samsung-dong. pic.twitter.com/dnZNLx1IbK — … (@yoonjung_seo) March 12, 2017 Around 6:30 p.m Sunday, a motorcade escorting former South Korean president Park Geun-hye left the presidential Blue House. About an hour later, it reached her private residence

Steven Borowiec
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The Judgment Day: Park Geun-hye Ousted by Constitutional Court

Ground zero for observing the fate of Park Geun-hye – and South Korean society more generally – was a rigidly divided stretch of road near the Constitutional Court in northern Seoul. On one side, a crowd desperate for the court to uphold Park’s long-awaited impeachment; on

Ben Jackson
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What Now? Court Ruling Triggers Early Presidential Election

By upholding Park Geun-hye’s impeachment on Friday morning, the Constitutional Court has opened a new chapter in South Korean political history. But while Park’s opponents and supporters come to terms with the decision, an unprecedented series of events has been set in motion. Here, ké radar

Seohoi Stephanie Park
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Former Spy Claims NIS Spied on Constitutional Court

An unnamed former agent claimed that South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) secretly interviewed officials from the Constitutional Court, reported the Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS). These claims come as the Constitutional Court prepares to deliver its final verdict on Park Geun-hye’s impeachment, most likely

Haeryun Kang
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When A Watch Tells More Than Time

The word “watch” is a double, perhaps triple, entendre when it comes to South Korea’s prime minister and acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn. It’s not just a time-telling device. It’s a symbol of his authority over time — specifically, his power to extend or kill the

Haeryun Kang
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Impeach the Impeachment: Older Conservatives "Defend Democracy"

They call their gatherings the “Taegeukgi Rally,” after the South Korean flag. They say their flags represent a growing fire, the true fire of patriotism and democracy, countering the supposedly ill-conceived fire of the candlelight rallies. They say most of the anti-Park protesters are disruptive communists, or naive young people

Steven Borowiec
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Dispatch from Yeouido: President Park Geun-hye Gets Impeached

The most spirited cries of the day came just after 4 pm. Teary friends shouted, embraced, threw their hands in the air. About a minute earlier, the boisterous music had been halted, and audio from the National Assembly was pumped in. In an flat tone of voice, the speaker announced

Haeryun Kang
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"I Love Park Geun-hye": The South Korean President's Last Loyalists

It seems like president Park Geun-hye doesn’t have many supporters left. Her closest aides are gone, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office — normally an ally of the sitting president — called her a criminal suspect, a growing portion of her Saenuri party is supporting impeachment, and her approval