25 November 2016, 14:54 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A group over 31 lawmakers, which includes former party chair Kim Moo-sung, decided to leave the party by the end of the year, setting December 27 as the provisional date, the Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday.
The group intends to set up an alternative party which is electable in preparation for the upcoming presidential election which could take place if the Park is impeached, according to the news outlet.
Other party members loyal to the president slammed the decision as "cowardly," accusing the group of fomenting dissent after losing the party floor leader race to loyalist Chung Woo-taik a week ago.
18 December 2016, 11:21 GMT
On December 9, the South Korean parliament voted in favor of starting the process of impeachment against the embattled leader over the "shadow adviser" scandal involving Park's associate Choi Soon-sil. The decision is now with the country's Constitutional Court. The court's first session was held on December 12. Park attended a court hearing on Monday, denying charges of allowing Choi to influence state affairs and extort money from corporations.
Choi was previously charged with using her informal connections to the president for her personal benefit and pressuring South Korean corporations to extort money from them for her non-commercial funds. She is also accused of editing texts of presidential speeches and making various official appointment decisions instead of the president.
