Ban’s term as the UN chief officially ends on December 31. Ban served as South Korea`s foreign minister from 2004 to 2006 and his candidacy for presidency has long been discussed, despite he has not announced a decision to join the presidential race to date.
South Korean parliament decided to impeach the President Park Geun-hye on December 9 after it became known that the president`s close friend Choi Soon-sil, who does not hold any official posts in the government or president`s administration, got familiar with texts of dozens of president`s speeches and possibly used her ties to the president for her own financial benefit. Choi, as well as 2 former officials from the president`s administration, have been arrested and accused of corruption and abuse of authority. The Constitutional Court has six months to decide upon validity of the parliament`s impeachment of Park. If the impeachment is recognized valid, presidential elections should be called within 2 months.
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