DYNAMICS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Outlook for next year's presidential election got blurred further as Saenuri Party lawmakers are raising different voices according to political interests. The non-President Park faction within the ruling party, composed of scores of lawmakers, has called on all of the party leadership to step down to take responsibility for the political crisis.
Five potential presidential hopefuls of the governing party, including former Saenuri chairman Kim Moo-sung, gathered on Tuesday to demand the resignation of the party leadership that was launched just around three months ago.
Kim, who led President Park's team for presidential election campaign in 2012 but is now categorized as a non-Park faction figure, said last Thursday that everyone did know Choi Soon-sil was close to Park when she was a presidential candidate in 2012. He said it was a lie to say that pro-Park figures didn't know the existence of Choi.
Expectations got high for forming a so-called "third playground", a claim that neutral political figures from both ruling and opposition parties gather in a third place for the 2017 presidential election. Possibility remains for part of Saenuri members to bolt from the embattled party and join the third bloc.
Traditional supporters for President Park are turning their backs rapidly. Park's approval rating dropped to a single-digit number for the first time during her four years in power. Most noticeable is an alienation of those in their 60s or above living in southeastern South Korea.
According to a Naeil Shinmun newspaper survey conducted on Oct. 31, Park's approval rating fell to 9.2 percent, down 25.0 percentage points from the previous month. Support for Park in the North Gyeongsang province tumbled from 44.3 percent to 8.8 percent.
Over 80 percent of respondents said the presidential personnel reshuffle will not contain public uproar, while about two-thirds of respondents agreed on the resignation of President Park.
Doubts remain about prosecutors' investigation into the Choi Soon-sil scandal as she was arrested belatedly. Many South Koreans still believe that time was enough for Choi to destroy evidence given that months have passed since allegations surrounding her surfaced in media reports.
Prosecutors raided the presidential office twice over the weekend, but they failed to enter inside the office for what the Blue House claimed was a possible leakage of classified documents. Instead, seven boxes of materials were voluntarily submitted to the prosecution.
When investigators stormed offices of the two foundations presumably controlled by Choi, the offices were almost empty, TV footage showed. All of computers in the K-Sports foundation were reportedly replaced, while email accounts of the employees were closed.
