South Korea Removes President Park Geun-hye

South Korea Removes President Park Geun-hye

SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean court removed the president on Friday, a first in the nation’s history, rattling the delicate (नाजुक) balance of relationships across Asia at a particularly tense time.Her removal capped months of turmoil(अशांति), as hundreds of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets, week after week, to protest a sprawling (विशाल) corruption scandal that shook the top echelons(श्रेणी) of business and government. Park Geun-hye, the nation’s first female president and the daughter of the Cold War military dictator Park Chung-hee, had been an icon of the conservative establishment that joined Washington in pressing for a hard line against North Korea’s nuclear provocations(उत्तेजनाओं). 

Now, her downfall is expected to shift South Korean politics to the opposition, whose leaders want more engagement with North Korea and are wary of a major confrontation in the region. They say they will re-examine the country’s joint strategy on North Korea with the United States and defuse tensions with China, which has sounded alarms about the growing American military footprint in Asia.

Ms. Park’s powers were suspended in December after a legislative impeachment vote, though she continued to live in the presidential Blue House, largely alone and hidden from public view, while awaiting the decision by the Constitutional Court. The house had been her childhood home: She first moved in at the age of 9 and left it nearly two decades later after her mother and father were assassinated in separate episodes.

Eight justices of the Constitutional Court unanimously decided to unseat Ms. Park for committing “acts that violated the Constitution and laws” throughout her time in office, Acting Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi said in a ruling that was nationally broadcast.Judges at the impeachment ruling at the Constitutional Court on Friday. The downfall of Ms. Park is expected to shift South Korean politics to leaders who want more engagement with the North. Credit Yonhap, via European Pressphoto Agency

Ms. Park’s acts “betrayed the trust of the people and were of the kind that cannot be tolerated for the sake of protecting the Constitution,” Justice Lee said.

As the verdict was announced, silence fell over thousands of Park supporters who rallied near the courthouse waving South Korean flags. Soon, they tried to march on the court and called for “destroying” it. When the police blocked them, some of the mostly elderly protesters attacked the officers with flagpoles, hurling water bottles and pieces of the sidewalk pavement. Two pro-Park demonstrators, ages 60 and 72, died during the unrest.

Ms. Park did not comment on the ruling, and remained in the presidential palace after her removal from power. But in Myung-jin, the leader of Ms. Park’s conservative Liberty Korea Party, said he “humbly respected” the ruling.

With the immunity conferred by her office now gone, Ms. Park, 65, faces prosecutors seeking to charge her with bribery, extortion and abuse of power in connection with allegations of conspiring with a confidante, her childhood friend Choi Soon-sil, to collect tens of millions of dollars in bribes from companies like Samsung.

By law, the country must elect a new president within 60 days. The acting president, Hwang Kyo-ahn, an ally of Ms. Park’s, will remain in office in the interim. The Trump administration is rushing a missile defense system to South Korea so that it can be in place before the election.

After the ruling, Mr. Hwang called key Cabinet ministers to put the nation on a heightened state of military readiness, saying the lack of a president represented a national “emergency.” He also warned North Korea against making “additional provocations.”

Definitions of delicate नाजुक

adjective

very fine in texture or structure; of intricate workmanship or quality.

a spider's web, strong yet delicate

synonyms: fine, exquisite, intricate, dainty, flimsy, gauzy, filmy, floaty, diaphanous, wispy, insubstantial

easily broken or damaged; fragile.

delicate china

synonyms: fragile, breakable, frail, frangible

requiring sensitive or careful handling.

delicate negotiations

synonyms: difficult, tricky, sensitive, ticklish, awkward, problematic, touchy, prickly, thorny, embarrassing, sticky, dicey

noun

a delicate fabric or garment made of such fabric.

It wasn't too long until I discovered her delicates (bras, panties, aerobic outfits, and make-up).

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Definitions of turmoil अशांति

noun

a state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty.

the country was in turmoil

synonyms: confusion, upheaval, turbulence, tumult, disorder, disturbance, agitation, ferment, unrest, disquiet, trouble, disruption, chaos, mayhem, uncertainty

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Definitions of sprawl विशाल

verb

sit, lie, or fall with one's arms and legs spread out in an ungainly or awkward way.

the door shot open, sending him sprawling across the pavement

synonyms: stretch out, lounge, loll, lie, recline, drape oneself, slump, flop, slouch

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Definitions of echelon श्रेणी

noun

a level or rank in an organization, a profession, or society.

the upper echelons of the business world

synonyms: level, rank, grade, step, rung, tier, position, order

a formation of troops, ships, aircraft, or vehicles in parallel rows with the end of each row projecting further than the one in front.

From the phalanx to the legion, from the tercio to l' ordre mixte, from the panzer division to fronts in echelon , conventional warfare has featured coherent formations, each trying to break the other.

verb

arrange in an echelon formation.

the echeloning of fire teams