SEOUL // South Korea’s parliament on Thursday approved a bill to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate a favours scandal engulfing president Park Geun-hye, sharply raising political pressure on her amid calls for her to step down.
It came as Ms Park’s lawyer said she will not be ready to appear before prosecutors until next week despite their demand to question her sooner over the snowballing political scandal.
Ms Park, who would be the first sitting president to be interrogated in a criminal case, has seen her approval ratings plunge in recent weeks, with hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to Seoul’s streets on Saturday demanding her resignation.
Her administration has been rocked by allegations that a friend, Choi Soon-sil, used her ties to the president to meddle in state affairs and wield improper influence.
Legal scholars and political analysts believe Ms Park is unlikely to resign and that impeachment by parliament is more likely. The special prosecutor will have up to 120 days to investigate the case and can bring charges.
The motion for a special prosecutor proposed by the main opposition Democratic Party passed by a vote of 196 in the 300-seat assembly, indicating some members of Ms Park’s ruling Saenuri Party backed the bill.
“We would like to propose this bill to resolve the public suspicion by appointing and allowing a special prosecutor to thoroughly find the truth through a strict investigation into allegations that civilians including Choi Soon-sil meddled in state affairs,” the bill said.
Prosecutors are separately investigating Ms Choi, who is alleged to have used her ties to the president to interfere in state affairs and wield influence in the cultural and sports communities, a prosecutor has previously said.
Ms Park’s lawyer Yoo Young-ha said the president was willing to cooperate in the investigation but said she needed more time.
* Reuters and Agence France-Presse
