미국의 영향력 있는 단체인 ‘동물의 윤리적 처우를 지지하는 사람들’(PETA)은 16일 성명을 통해 청와대 관저에 9마리의 진돗개를 버리고 간 박근혜 대통령을 비판했다.　이 단체는 “음식, 물, 쉼터, 치료 등 인간에게 의존해야만 하는 개나 다른 동물들에게는 버려진다는 것은 무섭고, 혼란스러우며, 위험한 일”이라며 한국정부에 이 개들을 위한 즉각적인 보호를 요청했다. (청와대 제공)PETA 국제캠페인 아시아 지부 부사장은 “생존에 있어 인간에게 의존할 수 밖에 없는 동물들을 버리는 행위에 어떠한 변명도 있을 수 없다”고 밝혔다. 　지난 12일 오후 박근혜 전 대통령은 파면선고 이후 이틀만에 삼성동 사저로 거처를 옮기는 과정에서 진돗개 9마리를 놔두고 떠나 논란에 휩싸였다. 　부산지역에 있는 한 동물보호단체는 “13일 오후 1시께 ‘박 전 대통령의 동물보호법 위반 행위를 처벌해 달라고 국민신문고에 고발했다”고 밝혔다. 　앞서 청와대는 “공고를 내는 등 적절한 분양 방법을 찾고 있다.

Alleged links have been found between the judge presiding over the trial of Samsung Group heir apparent Lee Jae-yong and Choi Soon-sil, sparking controversy over the fairness of the trial.Choi is a central figure in the scandal that led to President Park Geun-hye's impeachment. Samsung Group’s de facto chief is suspected of having offered kickbacks to Choi-controlled foundations in return for political favors from the the Park administration.Samsung Group’s heir apparent Lee Jae-yong (center) (Y

Ousted President Park Geun-hye said that she will turn up at the prosecution’s office to attend the face-to-face questioning set for next Tuesday over a corruption scandal that led to her impeachment. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office summoned Park on Wednesday as a suspect to undergo the in-person questioning scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. It said earlier that the timetable is “not negotiable.” Prosecution Service (Yonhap)Park’s lawyers said that she will fully cooperate with

Ousted President Park Geun-hye is facing criticism for not taking her dogs with her upon moving out of the presidential residence Sunday. CARE, a Seoul-based animal rights group, blasted Park for not being responsible. “It is no different from abandonment that the once chief of state gives up nine Jindo dogs she herself adopted and breed,” the group said on its website Monday.The family of dogs consists of a male-female pair, which Park had received as a gift from her neighbors when she left her

Choi Soon sil, former President Park Geun-hye’s longtime confidante, apologized to the public in an indication of a change in her attitude, during the first hearing held since Park Geun-hye was formally ousted from office by the court. “I am so sorry to the public that we are sitting here as part of the corruption scandal. I feel I am very perplexed,” Choi said during the hearing. She is standing trial for colluding with Park and former presidential aide An Chong-bum to extort donations from loc

A day after former President Park Geun-hye returned home from the presidential residence, over a hundred die-hard supporters launched a special unit to guard her home around the clock. It consists of some 150 supporters of the expelled leader. They will stage a relay of sit-in protests around the clock for one month near her house in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, said the group. “From the passage of the parliamentary impeachment motion to the court’s ruling, we condemn the special counsel and m

South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Friday ruled unanimously to remove President Park Geun-hye from office, the capstone of a sweeping corruption scandal that has engulfed the country for months. “Hereby, in a unanimous decision, the court issues the verdict: the court rules to expel President Park Geun-hye,” acting Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi said in a nationally televised ruling. With the decision, which is final and unchallengeable, Park has become the nation’s first democratically elected le

Tension is rising in South Korea as the clock ticks toward the announcement of a court decision on President Park Geun-hye’s fate. Expected to last about an hour, the verdict hearing on the president’s impeachment trial will start at 11 a.m. on Friday and is to be broadcast live to the nation. On Thursday, the police tightened security outside the Constitutional Court and the presidential office, as supporters and opponents of Park held heated rallies, with the lanes from Anguk Station near the

Nearly three months after the parliament voted to impeach President Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s Constitutional Court is set to rule on whether to unseat or reinstate the embattled president Friday. The court’s eight justices will vote to accept, dismiss or reject the impeachment, possibly right before the opening of the verdict hearing, to prevent the results from being leaked. Here is a guide to what could happen from Friday onward, which will be critical in shaping the political landscape of

Choi Soon-sil, President Park Geun-hye’s longtime confidante, filed a petition with a Seoul court Tuesday, asking it to review the constitutionality of the probe by the independent counsel into the scandal involving her and the president. “The independent counsel was recommended unilaterally by the Democratic Party of Korea and People’s Party, giving a special privilege to certain political forces,” Choi’s lawyer Lee Kyung-jae said. “The unconstitutionality is too serious and clear.” Choi Soon-s

South Korea will learn the fate of the Park Geun-hye presidency within the next week, when the Constitutional Court is widely expected to announce its ruling on her impeachment trial. The top court’s eight justices are currently deliberating on the 13 charges leveled against Park by the parliament which voted on Dec. 9 to sack the conservative state chief over a scandal involving her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil. The judges will decide if the president breached the country’s Constitution and la

Since the parliament voted to impeach President Park Geun-hye in early December, Park’s staunch supporters have relentlessly taken to the streets with Korean flags in their hands to oppose her removal from office. While the Korean flag has become a symbol of their movement to defend the president, a seemingly unrelated flag has also been carried by many of the -- mostly elderly -- participants at the rallies: the US flag. Conservative civic group members and President Park Geun-hye‘s supporters

The countdown to the ruling on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye has begun, as the Constitutional Court heard the final arguments of Park and the parliament on Monday. The court reviewing the legality of Park’s impeachment held its first closed-door session Tuesday to deliberate on whether Park has broken the law and the Constitution and whether the violations are serious enough to impeach her.President Park Geun-hye (Yonhap)Q. What process do the justices go through to reach a verdict?

President Park Geun-hye and the parliamentary impeachment committee made a final appeal on Monday during Park’s impeachment trial, with the ruling on her fate expected in early March.During the final hearing that began at 2 p.m., Park’s lawyers again questioned the legitimacy of the impeachment process and fairness of the trial, while the parliament asked the court to oust Park to uphold democracy and justice under the Constitution.(Yonhap)“Please declare a victory for those seeking justice, by

Tens of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets in central Seoul to protest for and against President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment on Saturday, with the ruling on Park’s fate expected in early March. 　The rival rallies have heated up and the rhetoric has become fierce in recent weeks, with only days to go until the independent counsel looking into the scandal ends its term and the Constitutional Court holds the last hearing of the impeachment trial. Protesters hold signs reading "Impeachme

The independent counsel investigating the corruption scandal involving impeached President Park Geun-hye on Friday reaffirmed its stance on suspending the indictment of the president, hinting at its determination to make sure the investigation into Park continues under state prosecutors.The counsel team also said the final investigation result will be announced on March 3 at the earliest, if its deadline is not extended. The team has requested a one-month extension for its investigation and is a

The Constitutional Court reconfirmed Friday that the final hearing for President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment trial will be held Monday as previously scheduled, regardless of the replacement of an outgoing justice, dismissing Park’s calls for a delay in the last hearing. “The final session will be held on Feb. 27. This decision was already made by all the eight justices,” an official from the court said during a briefing, hinting that the hearing will not be put off even in the case of a boycott

Civic groups called for the enactment of an anti-discrimination act Thursday, taking a swipe at presidential hopefuls who have been reluctant to support the law in the face of fierce opposition from Protestant and conservative groups. An association of 112 civic groups advocating sexual minorities, women, the disabled and migrant workers said that an anti-discrimination act would be a minimum tool to provide the socially marginalized with much-needed protection. An association of 112 civic group

President Park Geun-hye’s defense team Wednesday waged an all-out war against the Constitutional Court, calling it “biased” and even demanding the removal of one of its justices for “taking sides” with the parliament. 　The court, which at one point warned Park’s lawyers to watch their language, rejected their requests for the exclusion of Justice Kang Il-won from the impeachment trial and additional hearings to question witnesses. It, however, did heed their call for more time to prepare for the

The Constitutional Court reviewing the legality of President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment Monday urged President Park to decide by Wednesday whether she will appear at court for closing arguments.It also rejected the request by Park’s lawyers for more hearings to review evidence and cancelled the questioning of absent witnesses in a display of strong determination to conclude the historic trial before mid-March. (Yonhap)“Please confirm whether she will appear or not before the next hearing. We ha