Demand rises in S.Korea for embattled president's impeachment: poll

Demand rose in South Korea for the impeachment of embattled President Park Geun-hye ahead of vote on it in parliament, a local poll showed on Thursday.

According to a Realmeter survey between Monday and Tuesday, 78.2 percent said the scandal-hit president should be impeached, up 2.9 percentage points from the previous week.

Those who go against the impeachment was down 0.4 percentage point to 16.8 percent this week a day before the impeachment motion is put to vote in the National Assembly's plenary session.

Last Saturday, the 300-seat assembly put forward the motion as Park's third address to the nation over her scandal enraged South Koreans further for the absence of her sincere apology to wrongdoings.

Park was branded by prosecutors as a criminal accomplice to her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil, who has been indicted on multiple charges including abuse of power and extortion. She became the first sitting South Korean leader to be investigated as a suspect.

To be passed through the unicameral assembly, the impeachment bill requires at least 28 ruling party lawmakers to vote in favor as there are 172 opposition and independent legislators.

Almost seven out of 10 South Koreans held President Park responsible for the initial bungling of government responses to one of the country's worst maritime disasters on April 16, 2014 when the sinking of ferry Sewol claimed over 300 lives, mostly teenagers on a school trip to the southern resort island of Jeju.

According to the survey, 67.4 percent said Park's responsibility for the catastrophe should be included in the impeachment motion. Some of ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers had opposed it. Enditem