S. Koreans Celebrate Park Impeachment, But Anxiety Also

S. Koreans celebrate Park impeachment, but anxiety also

SEOUL, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Dec, 2016 ) - Tens of thousands celebrated the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye at a rally in Seoul on Saturday, but amid the euphoria there was lingering anger, and anxiety at the prospect of an extended period of political uncertainty.

For the seventh straight week, protesters gathered en masse in the streets of the capital, but the mood was generally festive, after lawmakers on Friday voted overwhelmingly to impeach the deeply unpopular Park over a corruption scandal.

Although the move stripped Park of her substantial executive powers, activists said they intended to keep up the pressure, with the impeachment still requiring final approval from the Constitutional Court -- a process that could take months.

And many were adamant that the president should resign immediately and face criminal prosecution.

"We are still hungry" the crowd in Seoul's Gwanghwamun chanted, as they also sang along to the revised lyrics of a Christmas song that read: "Only after she is out, will it be a Merry Christmas." Organisers put the turnout at around 600,000 -- smaller than previous weeks when the crowds passed the million mark.

Until the court rules, Park's authority is only suspended and she retains the title of president and the immunity from prosecution that goes with it. And she still has her supporters, many of them elderly voters who remain steadfast admirers of her father, the late military dictator Park Chung-Hee -- credited as the architect of the South's economic transformation but vilified as an authoritarian rights abuser.