South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday
under mounting opposition that she would leave office early if the nation's
parliament ordered, which it looks increasingly poised to do. "I will
abide to whatever arrangement the ruling and the opposition parties work out,
including reducing my term," Park said during an 2:30 p.m. news conference
in Seoul (12:30 a.m. ET).
"I am ready to put all things down." Park
did not apologize for the corruption charges against her. "I did what I
did thinking that was the best for the nation, but that cannot excuse me for
the failing to manage the people around me," she said. Park has been
accused of being an accomplice to alleged corruption by her personal adviser
and long-time friend, Choi Soon-sil, who is charged with extorting money from
South Korean conglomerates including Samsung. Choi is accused of using the
money to support her own projects and to buy horses for her daughter. Prosecutors
say evidence points to Choi, who is not a government official, using her
outsized influence with the president to affect South Korean policy.
"We believe today's presidential national
address is [Park's] cheap trick to avoid impeachment, and we are signing the
bill to process the impeachment against President Park Geun-hye as I am talking
to you right now," said Kim Hyun Mee, a leading lawmaker from the major
opposition Democratic Party.
Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in
Seoul each Saturday for the last five weeks to demand that Park step down, but
she has until now rejected calls to leave office and has dismissed prosecutors'
corruption allegations. This is a developing story. Please check back for
details.
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