Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Friday urged local authorities to pay particular attention to safety in regards to the planned protest slated for the weekend over the scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye's confidante.

"We'd like to urge participants to show a mature sense of citizenship," Hwang said.

Thousands of citizens are anticipated to take to the streets in downtown Seoul on Saturday, demanding Park's resignation from office. The organizers are predicting 50,000 participants will join the rally that will include a candlelight vigil.


The scandal surrounding Choi Soon-sil, Park's close friend of more than 40 years, has been rocking the nation, as media reports have shown she is suspected of meddling in state affairs, while attempting to embezzle funds from public foundations that were created to support the promotion of culture and sports. 

The foundations received the backing of the president and the government even fast-tracked their creation during the registration process.

Reflecting the public's anger, President Park saw her approval rating crash to 5 percent this week, the lowest ever for a sitting South Korean president, according to the survey conducted by Gallup Korea.

Park's approval rating came to a shocking 2 percent among citizens of Seoul. The poll was conducted between Tuesday and Thursday among 1,005 adults across the country, with a 3.1 percent margin of error.

Concerning the allegation that Choi may have received benefits from South Korea's hosting of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Hwang said there will naturally be a fact-finding effort, although he made clear that preparations must not be affected.

"We must put efforts towards the construction and remodeling of stadiums as well as other preparations as the Olympic date approaches," Hwang said.

South Korea's first ever winter games will be held for 17 days starting Feb. 9, 2018. (Yonhap)