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Riot police

On the evening of Mar. 12, Ahn Ji-hun, 34, watched a live broadcast of former president Park Geun-hye returning to her home. Perhaps because of Park’s personal history, Ahn had felt a little compassion for her. But now, he says, that compassion is gone.

“Seeing her smiling as she reached her house sent chills down my spine. It was so shocking,” Ahn. “When I saw pro-Park lawmakers gathered in front of her house to welcome her, it felt like she was a president who had finished her term in office or a leader who was being oppressed. My feelings of pity shriveled up.”

People who were expecting some kind of message of acceptance of the Constitutional Court’s ruling or call for unity from Park, who left the Blue House two days after the Constitutional Court decided to uphold her impeachment, are expressing their feelings of shock and disappointment. Instead of offering an apology for the Choi Sun-sil scandal, which forced the people who had elected Park as president to take to the streets to force her out of power, Park made a statement of outright defiance.

Jung Ji-yeong, 56, had trouble sleeping that night. “I couldn‘t get to sleep with the thought of how unlucky South Koreans are to have chosen such a person to be president and to have paid for her food,” she said. “As Park said, I hope the truth is quickly brought to light. The Special Prosecutor hasn’t completed the investigation either. If Park considers herself innocent, she should hurry up and let the prosecutors investigate her.”

Park Seo-gyeong, 43, who had expected the leader of a country to have some sense of responsibility, felt despondent. “I realized that [Park] is not a grown-up. She’s even worse than an elementary school kid. For several months, our society was divided and chaotic. At the least, Park should have apologized to the people.”

“There were people who died because of her on Mar. 10, and asking their forgiveness would have been the polite thing to do. She never stopped her irresponsible habit of stirring up division. There isn’t a single criminal who doesn‘t think their situation is unfair. Park needs to be quickly investigated by the Prosecutors as planned so that the truth can be revealed,” Park Seo-gyeong said.

On Mar. 13, all the political parties except for the Liberty Korea Party were united in their demand that the truth that Park had mentioned be brought to light through an exhaustive investigation by the prosecutors.

“Since Park is now a private citizen and a suspect with 13 charges against her, she needs to work with the Prosecutors’ investigation to reveal the truth. Through an immediate and firm investigation free of any political or governmental considerations, the Prosecutors must disclose the full truth before the people and sternly prosecute her crimes,” said Minjoo Party leader Choo Mi-ae during a meeting of the party’s supreme council.

“The truth will be revealed not by the Blue House but by the prosecutors. If Park feels that all this is unfair, she should wait no longer and work actively with the Prosecutors’ investigation to bring the truth to light,” said People‘s Party leader Joo Seung-yong during a meeting of the party’s supreme council.

“The Prosecutors‘ investigation of Park needs to be conducted by the law and according to the law,” said Jung Byeong-guk, former leader of the Bareun Party, during a radio interview with the Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation.

“The Prosecutors should swiftly send a summons to Park Geun-hye and they should take all measures necessary for the investigation including tracking her bank accounts and searching the Blue House,” said Justice Party leader Shim Sang-jung during a meeting of party leadership.

During a meeting of the Liberty Korea Party’s emergency committee, Chung Woo-taik, the party’s floor leader, avoided any direct mention of the Prosecutor’s investigation. “We will put the impeachment case behind us and focus on restoring stability to the government and unifying the country,” Chung said.

By Park Soo-jin and Oh Seung-hoon, staff reporters

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