S.Korean acting president sends New Year's message to troops
Xinhua, January 1, 2017 Adjust font size:
South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who is serving as acting president, sent his New Year's message to troops on Sunday as impeached President Park Geun-hye is suspended.
In a video message, the caretaker president said South Korea's security and people's safety are on the shoulders of troops as the country's security environment is very grave for now.
Hwang said he had a strong faith in the armed forces maintaining a firm defense preparedness and having robust willpower, vowing to spare no resources to support their implementation of duty.
President Park had unveiled her New Year's message on the first day in the past three years, but it was replaced by Prime Minister Hwang as the president was impeached in the parliament on Dec. 9.
Hwang said in a separate New Year's message to the nation that he will make the best efforts to stably manage state affairs by humbly accepting people's voices and considering the country's future.
Over a million people gathered in capital Seoul and other major cities across the country on Saturday night, the last day of 2016 that marked the 10th weekend candlelight vigil.
Organizers said the total number of demonstrators who participated in the 10 protest rallies surpassed 10 million, the largest-ever for a single demonstration.
People on the streets have demanded President Park voluntarily step down, though the constitutional court has up to 180 days to deliberate whether to permanently remove Park from office.
A presidential election must be held within 60 days if the two-thirds of the nine-judge court upholds the motion to impeach President Park. Endit