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South Korea’s Constitutional Court, on Friday, upheld the motion to impeach president Park Geun-hye. Acting Chief Justice Lee Jung-Mi read the ruling on the impeachment in a nationwide televised broadcast saying the Court’s decision by the eight justices was unanimous.

outh Korean law stipulated that the ruling has immediate effect – which means Park Geun-hye has been impeached and ousted from the presidency with immediate effect. She will be required to leave the presidential residence  – the Blue House – as soon as possible. A presidential election will be held in 60 days.

Since the December 9 adoption of the impeachment bill in the National Assembly, a total of 20 hearings had been held in the court. It took 92 days before the court’s final decision. Park will now possibly be subject to indictment and detention by prosecutors as she lost her presidential immunity following the court’s ruling. Prosecutors have identified Park as an accomplice of her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil, who is at the center of a corruption scandal that led to Park’s impeachment for multiple charges including bribery, abuse of privileged information and nepotism. Having been impeached, Park will be stripped of most of the privileges granted to former presidents, including a monthly pension worth 12 million won or 10,400 U.S. dollars –  to 13 million won per month, one paid chauffeur and three paid secretaries. Free medicine and costs for a personal office will not be given to the impeached leader either. Moreover, the period during which she will have a special presidential security detail will be reduced from ten to five years.

South Korean prosecutors on Monday sought to arrest impeached president Park Geun-hye over a corruption scandal embroiling Park and her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil. 

The Special Investigation Headquarters of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, tasked with the probe into the scandal, stated that concerns remained about an attempt to destroy evidence as Park denied most criminal charges despite substantial evidence against her. Park was removed from office on March 10 when the Constitutional Court upheld a motion to impeach her. The first female South Korean leader became the first South Korean president ousted by impeachment. State prosecutors, who took over the investigation from special prosecutors this month, summoned the Park last week for questioning. However, Park denied the criminal charges that were brought against her. Park recognized and apologized for misjudgments. The arrest warrant was formally delivered to a Seoul court, which would review the evidence and decide whether the warrant can be issued. The decision would be made late Wednesday or early Thursday. If issued, Park would become the third South Korean ex-leader to be taken into custody. Two former military leaders were put behind bars in 1995 for charges of treason and corruption.

State and special prosecutors levied a total of 13 charges against Park, including bribery, abuse of power and the leakage of state secrets. The statement said Park abused power by using her “powerful status and authority as president” to extort money and valuables from businesses and infringe on the liberty of corporate management, while leaking official secrets. Park is also accused of colluding with her decades-long friend Choi Soon-sil, who is now in custody, to solicit tens of millions of U.S. dollars in bribes from Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong who is also arrested. The bribes were allegedly offered in return for getting assistance in the transfer of management control of Samsung Group to Vice Chairman Lee from his ailing father Chairman Lee Kun-hee. The younger Lee, an heir apparent of the country’s biggest family-controlled conglomerate, has effectively taken the helm of Samsung since his father was hospitalized after a heart attack three years ago. Choi is charged with extorting tens of millions of dollars from scores of conglomerates to establish two non-profit foundations she used for personal gains. Prosecutors already branded Park and Choi as criminal accomplices.