South Korea's main opposition party urges Park to quit

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The Liberty Korea Party (LKP), the main opposition party in South Korea, asked ousted President Park Geun-hye to quit the party on Friday, citing acts of damaging the party and losing public support.

The party's ethics committee held a meeting to decide on a punitive measure for Park, in which the party will advise the impeached leader to voluntarily quit.

According to local media reports, unless Park submits the defection document to the party in 10 days, she would automatically be removed from the party membership.

It would mark the first time that a former South Korean president has forcibly lost party affiliation. Former conservative presidents, who were imprisoned for corruption charges, voluntarily broke away from their parties.

South Korea's former President Park Geun-hye (C) arrives for a trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, on May 23, 2017. /Xinhua Photo

Park was removed from her presidency on March 10 when the constitutional court upheld the National Assembly's impeachment bill regarding the influence-peddling scandal surrounding Park and her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil.

Since late March, Park was taken into custody and stood trial for multiple charges including bribery and abuse of power. A South Korean court extended Park's detention another six months until next April.

Park's lawyers resigned from their defense, while Park refused to appear in the courtroom earlier this week. saying the extended detention was a political retaliation.

Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye (Front) arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, on March 30, 2017. /Xinhua Photo‍

The party's ethics committee cited Park's acts of harming the party and alienating voters as reasons for the decision to expel the ousted president.

The LKP was defeated by a wide margin in the May 9 presidential by-election, as conservative voters were deeply disappointed with the scandal involving the conservative president.

Ahead of next year's local election of select chiefs of local governments across the country, the LKP has sought to reunify with the minor conservative Righteous Party.

Political experts estimated that Park's expulsion would serve as a cause for some of the Righteous Party members to return to the main opposition party.

The Righteous Party is composed of former members of the LKP, who broke away from it following the presidential scandal.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency