The Constitutional Court on Monday heard the final arguments of President Park Geun-hye and the National Assembly as it pushed to complete its review of the legality of the president's impeachment by early March.
Park did not appear at the final hearing, but she highlighted her efforts to serve the nation in a statement read by one of her defense attorneys.
She also expressed "regret" for causing "great pain" to the people and reiterated her claim that she only received trivial advice from Choi Soon-sil, her friend at the center of the scandal.
President Park Geun-hye's supporters rally outside the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Feb. 27, 2017. (Yonhap)
"I have never been involved in corruption and graft in my more than 20 years in politics," she said in the statement read by Lee Dong-heub.
Park was impeached on Dec. 9 for allegedly letting Choi meddle in state affairs and colluding with her to extort money from local conglomerates.
The prosecution's final argument was made by the National Assembly impeachment panel, starting with Rep. Kwon Seong-dong of the minor conservative Bareun Party.
Members of the panel especially highlighted Park's fault in failing to protect lives during a 2014 ferry sinking that killed more than 300. The alleged neglect of duty was cited in the parliament's impeachment resolution.
If the court upholds the impeachment and permanently removes Park from office, South Korea is required to hold a presidential election within 60 days.
Tensions rose between the impeached leader's supporters and opponents.
From early morning, dozens of protesters rallied outside the court to demand Park's ouster or reinstatement. The protests were nonviolent, although sometimes rowdy, prompting police to intervene and remove protesters from the site.
Park's lawyers are again expected to challenge the legitimacy of the trial. They have argued the court has been unfair toward the president by closing hearings at an early date.
Some of them have hinted they may not accept the court's ruling because it will be delivered by eight justices instead of nine, following the retirement of Chief Justice Park Han-chul last month.
The court is widely expected to announce its ruling by March 13, when acting Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi is set to retire.
Some legal experts speculate that the court may break from past practice and announce the date of its ruling at the end of Monday's hearing to prevent unnecessary social strife.
The court usually announces the date of a ruling three or four days in advance. (Yonhap)
