SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - In a historic, unanimous ruling, South Korea's Constitutional Court has formally removed impeached President Park Geun-hye from office over a corruption scandal that has plunged the country into political turmoil.
It was a stunning fall for Park, the country's first female leader and the daughter of a dictator who rode a lingering conservative nostalgia to victory in 2012, only to see her presidency descend into scandal.
The ruling by the eight-member panel Friday opens Park up to possible criminal proceedings, and makes her South Korea's first democratically elected leader to be removed from office since democracy came in the country in the late 1980s.
Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi said that Park's "acts of violating the constitution and law are a betrayal of the public trust."
South Korea must hold an election within two months to choose Park's successor. Liberal Moon Jae-in, who lost to Park in the 2012 election, currently enjoys a comfortable lead in opinion surveys. Whoever becomes the next leader will take over a country facing a hostile North Korea, a stagnant economy and deep social and political divides.
Photo credit: Kirk - under CC BY-SA 3.0