South Korean President’s Speech 'Didn’t Sound Like She is Ready to Resign'

“It is odd because that is how it’s been reported but that’s not really what she said. She said she will resign or she will agree to a shortened presidential term only upon the decision of the National Assembly,” Kim said.

She further said that the president “did not say that she is stepping down because then the question remains what is the National Assembly’s power going to be with this.”

The president also said that she was at no fault of any accusations. Despite that, the journalist said that the president’s speech left people enraged and dissatisfied because she gave a very short speech and she didn’t take any questions. So right now the situation in Seoul remains unclear and people are coming out with protests.

“This is a woman who is under investigation and she had now three times refused to answer any questions to prosecutors. So this speech that she gave today, [November 29] was actually incredibly an enraging speech,” Kim said.

She further stressed that the speech didn’t sound at all like she was ready to resign. “So I am actually surprised to see so many foreign reporters talking like she is about to resign,” Kim said.

According to the journalist, Park Geun-hye’s party is turning against her and last week over a million people came out on the street  to protest despite the fact that it was very cold.

“Now it is the fifth week of a million people crowding the streets of Seoul demanding that she step down. I think the party felt the pressure and they pressured her,” Kim told Sputnik.

Talking about the opposition in South Korea and their response to the president’s speech, Kim said that the opposition believes that now this will unite people and they will demand impeachment.

Looking at the political scandal in the country and how it has affected the situation in Seoul, the journalist said that, “This false sense of democracy in Korea is a real economic success and I think it made people really wake up to the fact that there is much corruption in the country and it could all shatter one day.”

She said that it is a good wakeup call and it’s positive to see that so many people united on this particular issue.

In October Choi was accused of using her ties with the president to extract millions of dollars in donations from big companies into two non-profit foundations she controlled. The revelations prompted public outcry with people demanding President Park’s resignation or impeachment.

South Korean opposition parties planned to call for a vote on potential impeachment in the National Assembly on Friday. If the National Assembly votes to impeach Park, the deeply unpopular Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn would serve as acting president. Meanwhile, it would take the Constitutional Court up to six months to decide whether or not to ratify the impeachment vote.