SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea’s Constitutional Court removed President Park Geun-hye from office on Friday over a graft scandal involving the country’s conglomerates at a time of rising tensions with North Korea and China.

The ruling sparked protests from hundreds of Park’s supporters, two of whom were killed in clashes with police outside the court, and a festive rally by those who had demanded her ouster who celebrated justice being served.

“We did it. We the citizens, the sovereign of this country, opened a new chapter in history,” Lee Tae-ho, the leader of a movement to oust Park that has held mostly peaceful rallies in downtown involving millions, told a large gathering in Seoul.

Park becomes South Korea’s first democratically elected leader to be forced from office, capping months of paralysis and turmoil over the corruption scandal that also landed the head of the Samsung conglomerate in detention and on trial.

A snap presidential election will be held within 60 days.

Park did not appear in court, and a spokesman said she would not be making any comment. She also would not leave the presidential Blue House residence on Friday.

“Park is not leaving the Blue House today,” Blue House spokesman Kim Dong Jo told Reuters.

Park was stripped of her powers after parliament voted to impeach her but has remained in the president’s official compound.

The court’s acting chief judge, Lee Jung-mi, said Park had violated the constitution and law “throughout her term,” and despite the objections of parliament and the media, she had concealed the truth and cracked down on critics.

Park has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.

The ruling to uphold parliament’s Dec. 9 vote to impeach her marks a dramatic fall from grace of South Korea’s first woman president and daughter of Cold War military dictator Park Chung-hee. Both her parents were assassinated.

Park, 65, no longer has immunity and could now face criminal charges over bribery, extortion and abuse of power in connection with allegations of conspiring with her friend, Choi Soon-sil.

Graphic: Who's Who in Korea scandal here

MARKETS RISE

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn was appointed acting president and will remain in that post until the election. He called on Park’s supporters and opponents to put their differences aside to prevent deeper division.

“It is time to accept, and close the conflict and confrontation we have suffered,” Hwang said in a televised speech.

A liberal presidential candidate, Moon Jae-in, is leading in opinion polls to succeed Park, with 32 percent support in one poll released on Friday. Hwang, who has not said whether he will seek the presidency, leads among conservatives, none of whom has more than single-digit poll ratings.

“Given Park’s spectacular demise and disarray among conservatives, the presidential contest in May is the liberals’ to lose,” said Yonsei University professor John Delury.

Relations with China and the United States could dominate the coming presidential campaign, after the U.S. military this month started deploying the U.S. THAAD missile defense system in South Korea in response to North Korea’s stepped-up missile and nuclear tests.

Beijing has vigorously protested against the deployment, which was agreed last year between Washington and Seoul, fearing its radar could see into its missile deployments. China has curbed travel to South Korea and targeted Korean companies operating in the mainland, prompting retaliatory measures from Seoul.

The U.S. military said on Friday it would keep delivering THAAD components, separating the issue from South Korea’s internal political crisis. The new U.S. administration has been keen to install the system as quickly as possible due to concerns that a new government in Seoul could block the deployment.

“We have a strong relationship and will continue to work with South Korea,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said. “It’s a domestic issue in which the United States takes no position in the outcome of that election.”

The Seoul market's benchmark KOSPI index .KS11 and the won currency KRW= rose after the ruling.

The prospect of a new president in the first half of this year instead of prolonged uncertainty would buoy domestic demand as well as the markets, said Trinh Nguyen, senior economist at Natixis in Hong Kong.

“The hope is that this will allow the country to have a new leader that can address long-standing challenges such as labor market reforms and escalated geopolitical tensions,” he said.

Park was accused of colluding with her friend Choi and a former presidential aide, both of whom have been on trial, to pressure big businesses to donate to two foundations set up to back her policy initiatives.

The court said Park had “completely hidden the fact of (Choi’s) interference with state affairs.”

Park was also accused of soliciting bribes from the head of the Samsung Group for government favors, including backing a merger of two Samsung affiliates in 2015 that was seen as supporting family succession and control over the country’s largest “chaebol,” or conglomerate.

Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee has been accused of bribery and embezzlement in connection with the scandal and is in detention. His trial began on Thursday.

Protesters supporting South Korean President Park Geun-hye clash with riot policemen near the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea. Kyodo/via REUTERS

He and Samsung have denied wrongdoing.

Graphic: South Korea's impeachment - here

‘COMMON CRIMINAL’

The scandal and verdict have exposed fault lines in a country long divided by Cold War politics.

While Park’s conservative supporters clashed with police outside the court, elsewhere most people welcomed her ouster. A recent poll showed more than 70 percent supported her impeachment.

Hundreds of thousands of people have for months been gathering at peaceful rallies in Seoul every weekend to call for Park to step down.

On Friday, hundreds of Park’s supporters, many of them elderly, tried to break through police barricades at the courthouse. Police said one 72-year-old man was taken to hospital with a head injury and died. The circumstances of the second death were being investigated.

Six people were injured, protest organizers said.

Police blocked the main thoroughfare running through downtown Seoul in anticipation of bigger protests.

Park will be making a tragic and untimely departure from the Blue House for the second time in her life.

In 1979, having served as acting first lady after her mother was killed by a bullet meant for her father, she and her two siblings left the presidential compound after their father was killed.

This time, she could end up in jail.

Prosecutors have named Park as an accomplice in two court cases linked to the scandal, suggesting she is likely to be investigated.

North Korean state media wasted little time labeling Park a criminal.

“She had one more year left as ‘president’ but, now she’s been ousted, she will be investigated as a common criminal,” the North’s state KCNA news agency said shortly after the court decision.

Slideshow (21 Images)

Graphic: Falls from grace around the world - here</s>South Korea’s Constitutional Court has upheld a decision by the country’s National Assembly to impeach President Park Geun-hye over alleged corruption.

The unprecedented decision was unanimous, with all eight judges on the court voting to remove Park, the country’s first female president, from office. South Koreans immediately took to the streets, with some groups protesting against the decision and others celebrating her removal from power.

The decision was revealed by Justice Lee Jung-mi Friday in a live broadcast that gripped the nation.

“We announce the decision as the unanimous opinion of all judges. We dismiss the defendant President Park,” said Lee.

Here are the main developments from the day:

South Korea’s first female president becomes the first to be ousted as a result of impeachment.

 Now stripped of her immunity, Park is liable to prosecution for the scandal that brought about her ouster.

 Pro- and anti-Park protests throng the streets of the capital.

 Park supporters have been cordoned off by police; they’re trying to reach the court which handed down the decision.

 Injuries have been reported as emotions run high in the protests.

South Korea’s political stability is crucial to the security of the region — it is a key buttress against North Korea, its provocative neighbor, and a major trading partner with the US and its Asian neighbors.

Park is the first South Korean president to be thrown out of office by the court. An election for her replacement must be held within 60 days, with Prime Minister and acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn to set the day. An adhoc Cabinet meeting will be held soon, a government official told CNN.

Park’s ouster means she loses the protection from prosecution she enjoyed as president. She could now face a formal investigation into her role in the corruption scandal which led to her impeachment.

During the announcement, anti-Park demonstrators were seen crying tears of joy and pumping fists in celebration, as applause rang out from the crowd.

Thousands of Park’s supporters waved South Korean flags as they stood on main thoroughfares near the Constitutional Court.

They were hemmed in by a ring of police officers, many wearing protective armor, and police vehicles.

A group of around 100 Park supporters tried to break through police lines near the court, and a number of people fell and were injured. Medical attention was provided at the scene.

Park’s supporters tried to reach the court, rocking the buses which blocked their way and attempting to climb over them.

Emotions were running extremely high in the pro-Park camp. One woman was heard by CNN screaming “democracy is dead, South Korea is dead.”

Hwang, who will remain in power until the election, has instructed all military personnel to be on alert and to increase security, the official said.

Police had issued the highest level of emergency order possible in Seoul ahead of the announcement.

About 21,000 officers are on standby for expected protests, with 270 units being mobilized.

The US, a key ally, responded to the decision by offering assurances that the two countries’ relationship would continue uninterrupted.

“We will continue to work with Prime Minister Hwang for the remainder of his tenure as acting President, and we look forward to a productive relationship with whomever the people of South Korea elect to be their next president,” acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

?”The United States continues to be a steadfast ally, friend, and partner to the ROK,” he said, using the acronym for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

“The US-ROK alliance will continue to be a linchpin of regional stability and security, and we will continue to meet all our alliance commitments, especially with respect to defending against the threat from North Korea.”

Park’s problems began in October, when revelations emerged about the influence her confidante and adviser Choi Soon-sil had over the President.

In December, lawmakers voted to impeach Park by a vote of 234 to 56, stripping away her executive powers. Since then she has remained in the presidential Blue House, but has remained largely out of public view.

The court upheld the impeachment because she was judged to have abused her authority in helping Choi raise donations from companies.

Local media and opposition parties have accused Choi of abusing her relationship with the president to force companies to donate millions of dollars to foundations she runs.

In a televised apology, Park said Choi looked at “some documents” for a certain period of time after Park took office, but didn’t specify what they were.

“I am shocked and my heart is breaking for causing public concern,” Park said.

Though she never held an official position, revelations showed that Choi was also given advance access to presidential speeches and other documents.

Choi is currently on trial for abuse of power and fraud. She denies all charges against her.

Park’s final weeks in office were marred by huge demonstrations as hundreds of thousands of South Koreans braved the brutally cold winter temperatures to take to the streets of Seoul and call for her ouster.

Park is not the first South Korea president to have faced impeachment. In 2004, late President Roh Moo-hyun was forced out of office for two months. However, the Constitutional Court later restored Roh to power, rejecting charges of abuse of power and mismanagement.</s>On Friday morning, South Korea's Constitutional Court voted to remove President Park Geun-hye from office, upholding her impeachment by the National Assembly in December. Acting Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi read the unanimous ruling from the eight-member panel on national TV, saying Park committed "acts that violated the Constitution and laws" and that "betrayed the trust of the people and were of the kind that cannot be tolerated for the sake of protecting the Constitution."

The judicial and legislative ouster, a first for South Korea, caps a scandal involving Park, her childhood friend and adult confidante Choi Soon-sil, and some of the country's biggest business executives. Choi, two former presidential aides, and several business executives — notably Samsung acting chairman and heir apparent Lee Jae-yong — have already been indicted in the sprawling scandal. Park, 65, not only lost the presidency Friday but also her legal immunity, opening her up to prosecution for bribery, extortion, and abuse of power. South Korea will hold new elections within 60 days, and the liberal opposition Democratic Party is expected to take power for the first time in a decade. Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn will stay in office in the interim.

Park, South Korea's first female president, is the daughter of former Cold War-era dictator Park Chung-hee, who ruled from 1961 until his assassination in 1979. Much of Park's support came from older, more conservative South Koreans who remember the economic leap forward ushered in by her father. Younger and more liberal Koreans had protested for months calling for Park's ouster amid the growing scandal. As the verdict was read on Friday, Park's critics cheered in the streets while some of her supporters wept. Peter Weber</s>SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – The Latest on South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s removal from office Friday by the Constitutional Court (all times local):

6:30 p.m. – South Korean police and hospital officials say about 30 protesters and police officers have been hurt in violent clashes near Seoul’s Constitutional Court following a ruling that ousted Park Geun-hye as president over a corruption scandal.

Two men believed to be protesters died on Friday as Park’s supporters angrily reacted to the ruling, hitting police officers and reporters and climbing on police buses used to create a perimeter to protect the court. Police say protesters also smashed the windows of several buses.

An official from Inje University Paik Hospital says about 20 protesters are being treated for injuries from the rallies. An official from Kangbuk Samsung Hospital says it’s also treating injured protesters, but couldn’t say how many.

An official from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency says seven officers are also being treated for mostly minor injuries.

5:35 p.m. – South Korea’s acting head of state has pleaded with opponents and supporters of ousted President Park Geun-hye to stop their fierce rallies that have divided the streets of capital Seoul.

The comments by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Friday came hours after two men died amid clashes between Park’s supporters and police following the Constitutional Court’s ruling to formally remove her from office.

In a televised speech, Hwang says “there would be people who feel they cannot understand or accept (the court ruling), but it’s now time to move on and end all conflict and standoff.”

He adds: “It’s not ideal to expand the conflict by continuing the protests outside on the streets … Precious lives were lost during the rallies today, and this must no longer happen.”

Hwang has served as the government caretaker since lawmakers voted to impeach Park in December.

3:45 p.m. – South Korea’s presidential office says Park Geun-hye won’t leave the presidential Blue House on Friday after the constitutional court stripped her of her powers over a corruption scandal.

A Blue House spokesman says some of Park’s aides are at her southern Seoul home to prepare for her return, but it hasn’t been determined exactly when she will leave the Blue House.

The spokesman says Park has no plans to issue a statement over the ruling on Friday.

3:20 p.m. – South Korea’s acting head of state says he feels “heavy responsibility” after the Constitutional Court formally removed Park Geun-hye as president over a corruption scandal.

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn has been the government caretaker since lawmakers voted to impeach Park in December. He said Friday in a meeting with Cabinet ministers that the government needs to focus on maintaining defense and economic stability while preparing for a presidential by-election that must be held within 60 days.

Hwang also instructed the Justice Ministry and police to prepare for the possibility of violent protests following the ruling.

2:40 p.m. – South Korean netizens are seeing a South Korean judge’s hair rollers as a symbol of dedication and hard-working women on the day that the court that the judge leads dismissed the president from office.

Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi arrived at the Constitutional Court earlier Friday with two pink hair rollers attached to the back of her bobbed hair.

Pictures of her profile showing the round curlers as the justice walked to her office, apparently unaware, went viral.

Some South Koreans saw the apparent mistake as a sign of Lee’s dedication to her work. Some linked it to President Park Geun-hye, who summoned her hair stylist to work hours after a deadly ferry sinking.

Lee, 54, is the sole female among eight judges on the Constitutional Court.

2:30 p.m. – South Korean police say a second person has died in protests against a court’s decision to remove President Park Geun-hye from office.

Police had no other details about the death Friday. Hospital official earlier said that another person, a man in his 70s, died from head wounds after falling from a police bus in front of the Constitutional Court after it ruled to oust Park.

The official said the man, believed to be a Park supporter, was bleeding heavily when he arrived at the office and died at around 1:50 p.m.

Thousands of Park’s supporters angrily reacted to the verdict, shouting and hitting police officers with flag poles and climbing on buses the police used to create a perimeter protecting the court.

2:25 p.m. – South Korea’s defense minister has ordered the military to be on alert for possible North Korean provocations attempting to exploit “unstable situations at home and abroad.”

In a video conference on Friday with military commanders, Defense Minister Han Min Koo said North Korea can make “strategic or operational” provocations at any time. The North has test-fired ballistic missiles in recent weeks.

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency has published a short dispatch on the court ruling in Seoul, anticipating that Park will now come under investigation as a “regular criminal.”

The party of ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye, meanwhile, says it “humbly accepts” the ruling by the Constitutional Court to remove Park from office and that it feels responsible for her downfall.

2:10 p.m. – A South Korean hospital official says that a man in his 70s died from head wounds after falling from a police bus in front of the Constitutional Court after it ruled to remove President Park Geun-hye from office.

The official said Friday that the man, believed to be a Park supporter, was bleeding heavily when he arrived at the hospital and died at about 1:50 p.m.

Thousands of Park’s supporters have angrily reacted to the verdict, shouting and hitting police officers with flag poles, and climbing on buses the police used to create a perimeter protecting the court.

1:55 p.m. – Japan’s top diplomat says it will continue to work with a South Korean government led by the successor of ousted President Park Geun-hye.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters Friday that he would not comment on the court ruling that removed the impeached president, citing internal politics.

Kishida says both countries must work on the “comfort women” dispute that has strained their relations for decades. He says he hopes Tokyo and South Korea’s new government can implement a 2015 agreement they signed to fully resolve the impasse over sexual exploitation of the women by Japan for its troops before and during World War II.

Kishida says Japan has no immediate plan to send back the ambassador it temporarily recalled to protest a “comfort woman” statue built outside of its consulate in the South Korean city of Busan.

11:55 a.m. – The United States says the removal of South Korean President Park Geun-hye is a domestic issue that doesn’t affect its strong alliance with the country.

The Constitutional Court formally removed the impeached Park from office Friday over a corruption scandal.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner says the U.S. will continue to work with the acting president, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, and looks forward to whomever South Koreans choose in a presidential election to be held within two months.

Toner says Park’s removal is “a domestic issue on which the United States takes no position,” and that it’s up to the South Korean people to determine their country’s future.

He says the two nations’ alliance “will continue to be a linchpin of regional stability and security.”</s>What will happen now that the country's highest court has upheld the impeachment and ouster of President Park Geun-hye?

South Korea's constitutional court has upheld the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.

A new presidential election is due to be held within 60 days.

The South Korean leadership is not only dealing with internal turmoil but growing tensions with North Korea too.

Following the latest North Korean ballistic missile tests, the deployment of a US missile defence system is causing alarm for Chinese leaders.

Who are the leading contenders for the South Korean presidency? And how will they manage relations in the region?</s>After months of a political scandal that has crippled South Korea, President Park Geun-hye on Friday was stripped of her powers by the Constitutional Court. Allegations that Park's long-time friend and daughter of a cult leader with no official role in the administration pulled government strings from the shadows has united many in a state of boiling rage.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Chicago Tribune.</s>On Friday morning, South Korea’s constitutional court upheld former President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment in a unanimous 8-0 decision. With the court’s ruling, Park becomes the first South Korean president to be impeached from office. South Korea will hold presidential elections 60 days from now instead of in December 2017, as originally scheduled.

Park was impeached on December 9, 2016, after the National Assembly voted 234-56 to remove her from office. The Assembly’s vote came after weeks of protests in Seoul, drawing crowds of hundreds of thousands of people (and in excess of a million on certain days) against Park. The South Korean public was incensed after a scandal emerged around the improper involvement of Choi Soon-sil, a personal friend of Park’s, in affairs of state. Over the course of the scandal, it emerged that Choi had inappropriately intervened in government policy, influenced Park’s decision-making, and engaged in corrupt practices to enrich herself and her family.

Friday’s decision by the court represents a watershed moment in South Korean politics and concludes one turbulent political process, but begins another. South Korea’s political parties will now scramble as an election fast approaches in early May.

Moon Jae-in, the presidential contender from the center-left opposition Minjoo Party, has performed well in recent polls, suggesting that the country may be in for a partisan change in the presidency. A poll released earlier this week by Realmeter showed Moon with 36.4 percent support among likely candidates, keeping him at the top of likely presidential contenders for nine weeks straight.

Park’s conservative Saenuri Party split in December following the impeachment vote, with many conservative lawmakers looking to distance themselves from the disgraced president. Overall, South Korean prosecutors have indicted dozens of people in connection with the Choi Soon-sil scandal, including South Korean conglomerate Samsung’s billionaire vice chairman and leader-in-waiting Jay Y. Lee.</s>On Friday, South Korea’s constitutional court unanimously ruled to remove the country’s president, Park Geun-hye, from office.

Park had already been impeached by the National Assembly in December on allegations of corruption, including that she shared confidential business documents with a friend, Choi Soon-sil. Park allegedly worked with her to extort millions from businesses; a more sensational version has the now-former president essentially under the control of that friend, who is the daughter of a cult leader. The scandal also embroiled the head of Samsung.

The constitutional court had six months after that National Assembly vote to decide whether Park should stay or go. It made its decision in three.

And so now South Korea is in a bit of a pickle. The populace is divided by Park’s corruption and ouster. South Korea is under increasingly scary threat from North Korea and pressure from China, a reprisal for Seoul’s efforts to bolster regional defense against showers of missiles (which, in a twist, may have brought the country closer to Japan).

South Korea now has two months to hold snap elections. Moon Jae-in, liberal and leader of the Democratic Party, is currently ahead in the polls. Moon last ran for president in 2012 and lost to Park.

It is widely believed that nostalgia for her late father, the authoritarian leader Park Chung-hee, brought her to the presidency. Her political career has notched a pair of firsts: She was the country’s first female leader, and is now also the first democratically-elected leader of South Korea to be removed from office. Worse for her, losing the office potentially opens her up to criminal prosecution.

Although polls showed South Koreans overwhelmingly supported Park’s removal, the country was divided after the verdict, which was greeted with protests in the country’s capital, Seoul, that already killed two and injured thirty. The country’s acting president called for unity and acceptance. It is still to be seen whether South Koreans will heed those calls.</s>PHILADELPHIA (CNN)–South Korea’s Constitutional Court has upheld a decision by the country’s National Assembly to impeach President Park Guen-hye.

The decision was unanimous, with all eight judges on the court voting to remove Park from office.

Park is the first South Korean President to be impeached. An election for her replacement must be held within 60 days.

The decision was announced by Justice Lee Jung-mi in a live, national broadcast.

Police issued the “Gabho” emergency order in Seoul ahead of Friday’s announcement, the highest level possible.

Officers are on standby for expected protests, with 270 units being mobilized — about 21,000 in total.

Park’s problems began in October, when revelations emerged about the influence Park’s confidante and adviser Choi Soon-sil had over the President.

Choi is currently on trial for abuse of power and fraud.

Local media and opposition parties have accused Choi of abusing her relationship with the president to force companies to donate millions of dollars to foundations she runs. She denies all charges against her.

Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans braved the brutally cold winter temperatures to take to the streets of Seoul and call for Park’s ouster.

In a brief televised apology however, Park made it clear that she had no intentions of resigning. In December, the National Assembly voted 234 to 56 to impeach her.</s>(SEOUL) — With South Korea's Constitutional Court stripping President Park Geun-hye of power , the country slips into a political whirlwind building up to a presidential election likely in early May.

Here's a look at possible scenarios in the frantic weeks ahead and some of the potential presidential contenders vying for the presidential Blue House:

With Park now formally unseated, the country, by law, must hold a presidential by-election within 60 days. This means the vote will likely take place on May 9.

The winner of the election will be immediately sworn in as the country's leader, according to South Korea's National Election Commission.

Without the luxury of having a presidential transition committee, the new president will have to rely on Park's presidential aides and Cabinet ministers, at least in the first few weeks, before piecing together a new government.

There's also a possibility that the presidential race could unfold while Park is being interrogated by prosecutors over suspicions that she conspired with a confidante to extort money and favors from companies and allowed the friend to secretly manipulate state affairs.

Prosecutors have already identified Park as a criminal suspect and now can now make a stronger push for indictment as she no longer has immunity from prosecution. Their investigations have already led to many arrests of former government officials, presidential aides and a globally famous tycoon, Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong , who is accused of bribing Park and her friend in exchange for business favors.

Park repeatedly refused to be interviewed by prosecutors in recent months, but that will be harder to do now because prosecutors can get an arrest warrant.

Being dragged into a criminal court, and possibly serving time in jail, would mark a shocking downfall for Park, who defeated her liberal opponent in the 2012 election with overwhelming support from older South Koreans, who fondly remembered her dictator father as a hero.

Many conservatives are seen as toxic because of their past association with Park, so some political pundits believe South Korea's next leader will be determined in the primaries of the liberal Democratic Party, the largest of the country's opposition parties.

And the party's two leading presidential contenders have remarkably different tones on major issues, including the country's approach to belligerent North Korea.

Moon Jae-in, who lost to Park in 2012 but is now the clear presidential favorite, argues that Seoul should pursue dialogue, not just the use of sanctions, to try to persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambitions. He vows to reopen an industrial park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong that was jointly run by the Koreas before Park's government closed it last year following a nuclear test and long-range rocket launch by the North.

Moon has also shown a willingness to challenge the United States, the country's main ally, saying Seoul should reconsider its plans to deploy THAAD, an advanced U.S. anti-missile system, to cope with North Korean threats. Moon argues that THAAD's security benefits would be curtailed by worsened relations with China and Russia, which see the system's powerful radar as a threat.

Moon's strongest challenger in the primaries will likely be An Heejung, the centrist governor of South Chungcheong Province.

An says it would be difficult for South Korea's next government to reopen the Kaesong park when Seoul has to stay committed to international sanctions to punish the North over its nuclear ambitions. He also supports the need for THAAD. An's stance has won him the support of many conservatives disappointed by Park.

The political turmoil surrounding Park has complicated politics for her conservative Liberty Korea Party, which failed to prevent the defection of dozens of lawmakers who created a new party for the presidential elections.

Some party members have hinted at presidential ambitions, including South Gyeongsang Province Governor Hong Joonpyo, but polls show their support to be closer to zero than 5 percent.

Things are not much better for the Bareun Party, consisting of those who defected from the Liberty Korea Party. Bareun had hoped to lure former United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon as its presidential candidate, but was left reeling after Ban abruptly decided he wouldn't run.

Bareun's flag-bearer may end up being Yoo Seong-min, a one-time Park aide who later became a critic. A recent poll by Gallup Korea showed Yoo's support at 1 percent.

The best hope for conservatives to win back the Blue House might be Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who has been the country's acting head of state since lawmakers passed an impeachment motion against Park in December.

Hwang has never declared an ambition to run for president, but has never outright denied interest either.

Recent polls show Hwang's support at about 10 to 15 percent in opinion polls. That would leave him still behind Moon, whose support has consistently been in the mid-30s.

If Hwang enters the presidential race, the role of government caretaker will go to Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Il-ho until the elections.
South Korea's Constitutional Court upholds the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, removing her from office. Hwang Kyo-ahn assumes powers as Acting President.