SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — Tens of thousands of South Koreans are expected to march in Seoul to demand President Park Geun-hye's resignation on Saturday, a day after she took blame for a "heartbreaking" scandal and rising suspicion that she allowed a mysterious confidante to manipulate power from the shadows. Dozens of police buses were parked in streets around City Hall and also a square in front of an old palace gate, which the police plan to close off to prevent protesters from marching toward the Blue House, the presidential office and residence. “She has just one year remaining as president, but we want her to fall down from power now.”

In truth, though, it’s a tricky time for a resignation and the leading opposition parties have stopped short of calling for that or impeachment, likely worried that could negatively impact next year’s election. In Friday’s televised apology, Park commented on the corruption allegations surrounding Choi and her former aides and vowed to accept a direct investigation into her actions, but avoided the more damning allegation that Choi perhaps had interfered with important government decisions on policy and personnel. Ms Park has been rocked by an influence-peddling scandal involving an old friend, sending her approval rating to just 5 per cent, a 12 percentage point drop from last week and the lowest since such polling began in 1988, according to a Gallup poll released on Friday. “I’ve already cut all the connections in my heart but from now on will completely break my private connections.”

Their friendship dates to an era when Ms Park served as acting first lady after her mother was killed by an assassin’s bullet intended for her father, then-president Park Chung-hee.
Tens of thousands protest in the South Korean capital, Seoul, calling for the resignation of President Park Geun-hye over her links with Choi Soon-sil, who was arrested on November 3, and charged with fraud and abuse of power.