Hundreds of thousands storm Seoul's streets calling for South Korea's president to step down
South Korea's capital is still fuming after staging one of the country's largest demonstrations in years.
On Saturday, an estimated 200,000 people stormed the streets of Seoul calling for President Park Geun-hye to resign over allegedly allowing her confidante to manipulate power from the shadows.
Smaller protests have taken place daily in past weeks, but Saturday's candlelight demonstration flooded the streets with people shouting and carrying banners.
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People are furious after the revelation that Park relied on a friend, Choi Soon-sil, to help her edit presidential speeches and wield influence over other undefined "public relations" issues.
Choi is the daughter of a late religious cult leader and a longtime friend of Park's.
In the days since, media reports have claimed that Choi's influence has run much deeper. Some say Choi reviewed and made recommendations on government policy papers, and extorted donations of millions of dollars from businesses for two foundations that she controlled.
Other reports speculate that Choi also helped choose presidential aides and even picked out Park's wardrobe.
Last Thursday, Choi was arrested in connection with the scandal.
The next day, Park delivered a televised apology, where she appeared close to tears as she vowed to accept direct investigation into her actions.
"I feel a huge responsibility [for the scandal] deep in my heart," Park said, her voice shaking. "It is all my fault and mistake."
But people are still out for political blood, it seems. People are documenting the protests on social media, and continue to post online with hashtags such as #내려와라_박근혜 (step down, Park Geun-hye).
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
Topics Activism
Victoria Ho is Mashable's Asia Editor, based in Singapore. She previously reported on news and tech at The Business Times, TechCrunch and ZDNet. When she isn't writing, she's making music with her band
