South Korea’s ousted leader leaves presidential palace
Ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye left the presidential palace Sunday evening, two days after the country’s Constitutional Court removed her from office over a massive corruption scandal.
South Korean television showed Park’s motorcade leaving the Blue House and heading for her private home in southern Seoul, where hundreds of police officers, reporters and supporters were gathered in anticipation of her arrival.
Later Sunday, Park Geun-hye denied any wrongdoing, making her first public statement since being removed from office.
In a statement read out by a member of her political party, Park said, “Although it will take time, I believe the truth will certainly come out.”
She also expressed gratitude to her supporters and apologized for “failing to fulfill my duty as president.”
Lawmaker Min Kyungwook read the statement after Park left the presidential Blue House and arrived at her Seoul home.
The Constitutional Court formally removed Park from office Friday, upholding an impeachment motion filed by lawmakers in December amid suspicions that she colluded with a confidante to extort money and favors from companies and allowed the friend to secretly manipulate state affairs.
The ruling ended a power struggle that had consumed the nation for months and marked a stunning downfall for Park, who convincingly defeated her liberal opponent in 2012 with overwhelming support from older South Koreans, who remembered her dictator father as a hero.
