South Korea to hold election on 9 May to choose Park Geun-hye's successor

Seoul: South Korea says it will hold an election on 9 May 9 to choose a successor for ousted President Park Geun-hye. The Constitutional Court ruled Friday to formally end Park’s presidency over a huge political scandal involving her and her longtime confidante. By law, South Korea must hold a national vote to find her successor within two months of the ruling. The Ministry of Interior said Wednesday that 9 May has been chosen as the date for the election. Moon Jae-in, a liberal opposition leader who lost the 2012 presidential election to Park, is the favorite to be the country’s next leader in opinion surveys. Prosecutors accuse Park of colluding with confidante Choi Soon-sil to extort money from businesses and allowed her pull government strings from the shadows. The Constitutional Court dismissed Park from office on Friday when it upheld a parliamentary impeachment vote over an influence-peddling scandal that has shaken South Korea’s political and business elite. Park has denied any wrongdoing.Prosecutors were due to notify Park of a summons date as a suspect later on Wednesday, an official in the prosecutors’ office said earlier. One of her lawyers, Sohn Beom-gyu, told Yonhap Park would “actively cooperate with the investigation as long as her situation allows”.