On Friday, South Korean President Park Guen-hye was removed from office after the country’s Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment. Park allegedly violated the constitution and broke the law by helping her confidante, Choi Soon-sil, take bribes from corporations, including Samsung.
Park is the first democratically elected president to be impeached by the National Assembly. With this impeachment, she is no longer immune to prosecution. Park faces criminal investigation into bribery allegations. New elections must be held within 60 days and the date is likely to be May 9.
The decision of the court could influence the hearings of Lee Jae-yong, the Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics who was arrested for allegedly bribing Choi with around 43 billion won. Lee is accused of paying this money to ensure a merger between two Samsung affiliates, which would benefit Lee disproportionally.
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