Thousands of South Koreans demand President's resignation

Thousands of South Koreans took to the streets of the capital, Seoul, on Saturday, demanding the resignation of President Park Geun-hye over allegations that she let an old friends, the daughter of a religious cult leader, interfere in important state affairs.

Police estimated that around 12,000 demonstrators attended the evening protest, according to the country’s Yonhap news agency.

The protests came after Park ordered 10 of her senior secretaries to resign over a scandal that is likely to deepen the president’s unpopular status ahead of next year’s election. Those ordered to resign include the senior secretaries to the president for policy coordination, political affairs, civil affairs, foreign affairs and national security, public relations, economic affairs, future strategy, education and culture, employment and welfare and personnel affairs, according to the presidential office's website.

Holding candles and signs reading “Who’s the real president?” and “Park Geun-hye, step down”, the protesters marched through downtown Seoul after holding a candlelight vigil near City Hall.

Park has been facing calls to reshuffle her office after she admitted on Tuesday that she had provided longtime friend Choi Soon-sil drafts of her speeches for editing. Her televised apology sparked huge criticism about her mismanagement of national information. She had already become unpopular for what some saw as a heavy-handed leadership style and lack of transparency.

There has also been media speculation that Choi, who holds no government job, meddled in government decisions on personnel and policy, and exploited her ties with the president to misappropriate funds from nonprofit organisations.

The saga, triggered by weeks of media reports, has sent Park’s approval ratings to record lows and the minority opposition Justice party has called for her to resign.

“Park has lost her authority as president and showed she doesn’t have the basic qualities to govern a country,” Jae-myung Lee, from the opposition Minjoo party and the mayor of the city of Seongnam, told the protesters from a stage on Saturday.

Prosecutors on Saturday widened their investigation by searching the homes of presidential officials suspected of interacting with Choi and receiving their office files from the Blue House the presidential office and residence. Prosecutors had previously summoned some of Choi’s key associates and raided their homes and workplaces, as well as the offices of two nonprofit foundations Choi supposedly controlled.

Choi’s lawyer, Lee Gyeong-jae, told reporters on Friday that she is currently in Germany and is willing to return to South Korea if prosecutors summon her. In an interview with a South Korean newspaper earlier this week, Choi admitted receiving presidential documents in advance, but denied intervening in state affairs or pressuring companies into donating to the foundations.