Tens of thousands of South Koreans take to the streets to demand the President's resignation

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Seoul on November 5 to call for President Park Geun-hye to resign following a political scandal involving a close friend, Reuters reported.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest in Seoul on November 5. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters quoted local police as saying that about 43,000 people held candlelight rallies in central Seoul on the evening of November 5 to call for President Park to resign. Meanwhile, organizers said up to 100,000 people participated in the protest, marking the largest protest in South Korea since 2008 when people took to the streets to protest against US beef imports.

Police said they had deployed 17,600 security personnel and 220 units including buses and mobile barriers to the protest area.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye is under pressure to resign after a political scandal broke that revealed her close friend Choi Soon-sil used her close relationship with her to meddle in government affairs despite holding no cabinet position. Park has apologized twice on television and pledged to cooperate with prosecutors investigating the case.

To appease public opinion, Ms. Park also urgently dismissed some of her close advisers. Her former aide Jeong Ho-seong was arrested on November 3 on suspicion of leaking confidential information.

Park's approval rating has dropped to just 5%, the lowest in the history of South Korean presidents since Gallup began conducting the survey.

According to Dan Tri