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Katie Lafferty
AP Language and Composition
12 December 2016
Park Geun-hyes Scandal
A scandal in South Korea involving the president confiding in an unofficial source has caused a
major uprising among the people of the country. Citizens rely on their president to guide them in a
direction that will promote the country's development, without that trust there is nothing but corruption
and injustice. The people of the country are causing uproar because of the scandal; however, there is little
evidence of direct correlation to the corruption of the country. There are few people in the South Korean
community that believe Park should remain in presidency. Although Park Geun-hyes scandal has caused
little corruption directly to the government, it has halted the correction of misconduct that is already
prevalent in the country and has resulted in a detrimental rebuttal from the South Korean community.
Park Geun-hyes scandal is extremely controversial, many people are unsure what to do because of
the scandal and left surprised because the citizens of the country expected Park to be something
completely different than she was. In Park Geun-hye, a Nation's Princess Recast as a Puppet, the article
talks about how Parks father was tremendously important to the country before he got assassinated, as he
lead for more than 18 years. This shows how Park Geun-hye had a lot to live up to since her father is one
of the best presidents South Korea ever had. In South Koreas Presidency on the Brink of Collapse as
Scandal Grows, Anna Fifield explains how Parks past made the people think she would be a great
leader, much like her father whom transformed the country into an industrial powerhouse. Now people
can consider Park to have failed those expectations, as she continues being constantly ridiculed for her

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scandal. Not living up to the standards that were set for her cause the people to look down at her even
more.
South Korean citizens genuinely thought that Park Geun-hye would be the change they wished to
see in their community. According to Ralph Jennings Park Geun-hyes Agenda is Finished, reads,
Park Geun-hye, elected in 2012 as the countrys first female was supposed to be different, devoted more
to her country than her personal gain. Then she was accused of letting an old friend, Choi Soon-sil call the
shots. Choi Soon- sils father was a leader of a cult and bribed Park by saying he could communicate
with her dead parents, after this Park and Choi became close, and they stayed this way throughout Parks
presidency (Harris). People thought it was possible that Park and her family were a part of a cult as well,
which explains the idiotic actions Park took while confiding in Choi. The people of South Korea strongly
believed in this new female president to lead her people to better and bigger things, they knew her as the
princess. In Heartbroken South Korean President Park Admits Scandal, it states that after serving four
years as president, a scandal was released in which the president was found to have used her friend, an
unofficial member of the government for advice on official issues. Park Geun-hye admitted to letting her
friend help her make decisions and continuously states that shes open to an investigation. Foster King
and Kim Tong-Hyung elaborate of Parks counterclaim in S. Korean Leader Offers Conditional
Resignation Amid Scandal. as she tries to make up for her actions by saying, Not for one moment did I
pursue my private gains, I have so far lived without harboring the smallest selfish motive, the people are
flabbergasted by her actions.
This scandal has corrupted the government in a minuscule way, but it is still prevalent, as there was
misconduct before Park entered the presidency. Corruption, bribery, embezzlement and the abuse of
power have been modulated over the past generation but remain indisputable components of official
South Korea, as the scandal now engulfing President Park Geun-hye shows (Fifield). This idea

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extremely important because it clearly states that South Korea has been under the hand of corruption for
quite some time. For almost 40 years the government has not been correct, and Park proves that with her
overwhelming scandal. Before it went public, a police detective found information that was soon turned
into a report, accusing Park Geun-hye of unofficial meetings and advisors, and meddling in state affairs.
That detective was charged with leaking government documents and instantly replaced (Sung). This
shows that although this scandal didnt have a notably huge impact on the corruption of the government,
officials still acted to try to cover it up and pretend it did not happen, many people lost their job and Park
wouldnt allow anyone to accuse her of such treacheries, when they were happening right before the
publics eye, without them even noticing. Although the effect on the government issues is little compared
to the general backlash of the public, this scandal has affected some processes that were implemented
before the dishonor. In Amid Scandal South Korean Officials Retreat on Controversial Textbook Plan,
Choe Sanh-hun talks about the demand of Park Geun-hyes resignation has affected the implementation of
a conservative textbook plan that returns education to its authoritative past. This can no longer be applied
to help the children of the nation because the scandal completely interrupted the start of this plan.
Choi Soon-sil, the friend of Park Geun-hyes whom gave her advice on official plans, faces
allegations of exerting influence on economic, foreign, and defense policies adopted by park. In South
Korean President Scandal: Park Geun-hyes Former Advisors Arrester, Seerat Chabba expands on this by
adding that not only is her confidant being charged, but her former advisor for policy, Ann John-beom,
faces charges of abuse of power and extortion. In the long run, Parks presidency has been very consistent
with the idea of corruption, because she was talking to her friend about government affairs the whole
time, and he former advisor was found to have participated in illegal activities with her as well. While the
people that Park are close to are being charged, she remains untouched and free because of the protection
of her presidency. These allegations undoubtedly lead to Parks resignation and the need for her to face
charges that she is unable to face as the current president.

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Park doesnt completely get away from her inappropriate behavior. Nyrska Chandran explains how
opposition parties will likely use their power to hinder Parks attempts to install her candidates, leaving
her powerless in South Koreas President Park Inflames Choi-gate Crisis When Cabinet Reshuffles.
Although Park is protected from charges for her mistakes because she is president of South Korea, people
of bordering communities realize that something needs to be done for Park to be aware of her wrong
doings, by taking away all her power they are proving to her that she cant cause complete corruption of
normal governmental structures, without facing punishment. Park rebuttals to the constant judgement of
her scandal by saying, I will leave everything to parliament about my future, including the shortening of
my term (McCurry). This quote proves that Park has accepted her scandal and realizes her wrong doings.
She is willing to take punishment for the corruption she has caused as she becomes aware of it.
The people of South Korea lack all respect for their president at this point. The largest protest in
South Korean history was recorded to have taken place in Souel, against the president Park Geun-hye
(Sang-hun). Charlie Campbell states in, Huge Numbers Demand the Ouster of South Korean President in
Fifth Week of Protest, that crowds estimated from 500,000 to 1.5 million have thronged central Seoul to
demand her ouster. It appears to be clear that the public has become less than fond with their president as
she has completely lost their trust and support. With her face adorning urinals and dripping blood, in
protest portraits, there can be little doubt that South Koreas most unpopular person is currently the
president. The backlash to this scandal is at record high numbers as protests break out left and right for
the resignation of the South Korean president. People are furious with the corruption in the government
and how it has affected their lives. Not only are people gathering for protests but in Choe Sang-huns,
South Korean Arrested After Setting Fire at Birthplace of Presidents Father, he states that a South
Korean man was arrested for setting fire to a memorial of Park Geun-hyes father who lead the country
out of poverty while fending off communists. Its important to understand the severity of this before
dangerous riots break out and destroy anything relation to Park in any way. The people are tremendously
dissatisfied with the actions of their president and are taking it out in unprecedented ways.

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The possible impeachment or resignation of their president is a common topic amongst most South
Koreans. It seems as if everyone in the country despises Park, but this proves to be untrue. Parks
approval ratings have dropped record low at 17 percent (Fifield). Although this number is record low and
almost unheard of, that 17 percent is still in support of Park despite her corruption, they see her as the
princess she once was when she first entered the presidency. Aside from the small slither of South
Koreans who are in support of the corrupted president, most of them want to see her out. Park is aware of
the publics demise of her, as she offers to resign and asks parliament to arrange her exit (McCurry). Not
only do the citizens of South Korea want to see a change in presidency, but it is evident that South Korea
wants to see their president impeached, so that their country can start healing the corruption that took
place and pray for a president who is more official and secretive about important objectives and plans.
South Korea is forever changed by the scandal that Park Geun-hye brought to the table. If the
president gets impeached or resigns, the country will begin to heal itself. In the eyes of South Korea the
president transformed overnight from a princess to a puppet (Harris). As the president of South Korea,
Park Geun-hye was supposed to continuously help her country grow together. The only thing she
succeeded at was tearing it apart.

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Works Cited
Campbell, Charlie. "Huge Protests Continue Against South Korea's Leader." Time. Time, 28 Nov.
2016.Web. 12 Dec. 2016
Chabba, Seerat. "South Korean President Scandal Update: Park Geun-Hye's Former Advisers Arrested."
International Business Times. N.p., 06 Nov. 2016. Web. 12 Dec.2016.
Chandran, Nyshka. "Think US Politics Is in Turmoil? Check out SKorea's Out-of-control Presidential
Crisis." CNBC. CNBC, 03 Nov. 2016. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.
Evans, Stephen. "Will South Korean President Park Geun-hye Be Impeached?" BBC News. N.p., 01 Dec.
2016. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.
Fifield, Anna. "Presidential Scandal Shows That 'Korean Disease' of Corruption Is Far from Cured." The
Washington Post. WP Company, 6 Nov. 2016. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.
Fifield, Anna. "South Korea's Presidency 'on the Brink of Collapse' as Scandal Grows." The Washington
Post. WP Company, 29 Oct. 2016. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.
Harris, Bryan. "Park Geun-hye, a Nations Princess Recast as Puppet." Financial Times. N.p., 4 Nov.
2016. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.

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"Heartbroken South Korean President Park Admits Scandal Was all My Fault." Asian Correspondent.
The Correspondent Network, 04 Nov. 2016. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.
Jennings, Ralph. "South Korean President Park Geun-Hye And Her Agenda Are Finished." Forbes. Forbes
Magazine, 2 Nov. 2016. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.
McCurry, Justin. "South Korea's President Calls on Parliament to Arrange Her Exit." The Guardian.
Guardian News and Media, 29 Nov. 2016. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

Press, Associated. "S. Korean Leader Offers Conditional Resignation amid Scandal." USA Today.
Gannett Satellite Information Network, 29 Nov. 2016. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.
Sung, Choe Hun. "South Korea Scraps Park Geun-hyes Contentious Textbook Policy." The New York
Times. Asia Pacific, 5 Dec. 2016. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.