SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's parliament has impeached President Roh Moo-hyun, suspending him from office amid chaotic scenes and thrusting the country into unprecedented economic and political uncertainty. Some 12,000 Roh supporters, many holding candles and chanting slogans, protested peacefully on Thursday near the National Assembly parliament building and the headquarters of the main opposition Grand National Party. Riot police stood at the ready. All Roh's powers are in limbo until the Constitutional Court rules on the vote, which the opposition called after he broke an election law. That process could take up to six months, during which time Prime Minister Goh Kun will run the country. "The world is watching us with anxiety and concern," Goh told ministers in a nod to the unseemly brawling in parliament as well as the geo-political ramifications of impeachment for a country that borders North Korea and has Asia's fourth-largest economy. "We should do our best to change those anxieties and concerns into belief and trust in our country," he said as he presided over his first cabinet meeting as acting president. U.S. and South Korean military officials will meet on Saturday to discuss security -- there are 37,000 U.S. troops in South Korea... "...This is the day our nation's democracy died," said the pro-Roh Uri Party that had sought to block the vote with a sit-in. Its members of parliament said they would all resign...
The article doesn't really make it clear. Was their some sort of wrongdoing or is this being used as a type of recall?
Roh has yet to apologize for accusations that he broke election laws by stumping for the Uri Party in the upcoming April 15 parliamentary campaign. Roh does not belong to the Uri party but has said he wants to join. The National Elections Commission ruled last week that Roh had engaged in illegal electioneering, but that the infraction was minor, not warranting criminal charges. "I worry the nation may split into pro-impeachment and anti-impeachment factions," said Lee Jung-hee, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul. Even before the impeachment, Roh's credibility had been undermined by corruption scandals in his administration. In December, three former aides were indicted on charges of collecting illicit funds from Samsung, LG and other big businesses for the December 2002 presidential campaign. Roh says his campaign was far cleaner than the opposition's. Prosecutors' investigations indicate the GNP amassed $72 million and that Roh's camp accepted $9.4 million
From what I heard, this constitutional crisis could have been avoided by an apology from Roh. South Koreans have to be saying "wtf??"
<private message to JoePak> "America is an awful place" is my standard reply to any of MelBrennans spam thread starters. It works fine 98% of the time. Didnt really work on this one... </private message>
Ah. I see. Thanks. I should develop an autoresponse to Karl Keller's messages for the same reason. Well then, carry on.
