South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on Friday agreed to be questioned in a formal corruption probe, portraying herself as an over-trusting, “lonely” leader who dropped her guard with a close friend arrested for fraud.
In a highly personal televised address to the nation, Park said the scandal involving her long-time confidante Choi Soon-Sil was “all my fault”, but denied reports linking her and Choi to a religious cult.
The scandal has shattered public trust in Park’s presidency, and a new Gallup poll showed her approval rating had plummeted to just five percent —an all-time low for a sitting South Korean president.