Tens of thousands of protestors braved icy weather and slippery roads for a rally in Seoul Saturday, demanding impeached President Park Geun-Hye's removal and the Samsung heir's arrest for corruption. Park was impeached by parliament last month over an influence-peddling scandal and the Constitutional Court now has to confirm the impeachment.
Protestors chanted slogans demanding the arrest of Park and business tycoons including Lee Jae-Yong, heir to the Samsung empire, calling them "co-culprits" in the scandal. Organisers put the size of the crowd at 150,000. A South Korean court has refused to authorise the arrest of Lee, accused of bribing Choi Soon-Sil, Park's confidante at the centre of the scandal, in return for favours. It cited lack of sufficient evidence. The political turmoil has brought huge numbers onto South Korea's streets every Saturday for the past three months, urging the court to verify Park's impeachment and calling for her immediate departure from office.
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