SEOUL: The impeachment trial of South Korea’s President Park Geun-Hye got under way Thursday (Jan 5), with her lawyers arguing there is no evidence to back the corruption allegations that threaten to force her from office.
Parliament voted to impeach Park last month over an influence-peddling scandal that has brought hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets every week demanding her removal.
Park is accused of colluding with a longtime friend, Choi Soon-Il, to strong-arm donations worth tens of millions of dollars from top firms which were then funnelled to dubious foundations.
She is also accused of using her influence to ensure the merger of two Samsung units in 2015 in order to help facilitate a father-to-son power succession of Samsung’s founding family.
The National Assembly, which must have its vote upheld by the Constitutional Court, accused Park of a serious breach of the constitution during the first full hearing in the impeachment case.
