The rise and fall of South Korea's impeached president
Park Geun-hye is South Korea's 1st democratically elected leader to be ousted from office
South Korea's Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of president Park Geun-hye on Friday, removing her from office over a graft scandal that has gripped the country for months.
Park's ouster marked a dramatic fall from grace for South Korea's first woman president and daughter of a military dictator.
Following is a timeline of main developments in the scandal and events in her life and political career.
1974 and 1979: Parents killed by assassins
Park's mother is killed by a bullet fired by a pro-North Korea assassin who was trying to kill her father, President Park Chung-hee. Park — seen at centre in the first photo below and at her mother's funeral in the second — became acting first lady.
Her father was later assassinated in 1979 by his disgruntled spy chief.
1998: Return to political life after years of seclusion
Park becomes a member of parliament for the centre-right Grand National Party (GNP) with a vow to save the country, which is suffering from an Asian financial crisis. In 2004, she becomes the leader of GNP, which scores an upset victory in parliamentary elections in 2006.
Below, Park is seen at the GNP main office in Seoul in June 2007.
2012: South Korea's 1st female president
Park wins her party's primary to become presidential candidate and defeats liberal candidate Moon Jae-in in the Dec. 19, 2012, presidential election. In the picture below, she is sworn in as South Korea's first female president at the country's parliament in Seoul on Feb. 25, 2013.
October and November 2016: Friend arrested and indicted
On Oct. 25, Park makes her first public apology for giving a friend, Choi Soon-sil, access to draft speeches during the first months of her presidency. Choi — pictured below arriving for her first court hearing on Dec. 19, 2016, in Seoul — was arrested six days after Park's apology by state prosecutors on suspicion of exerting inappropriate influence over state affairs.
On Nov. 4, Park makes her second televised apology, saying she would take responsibility if found guilty — prosecutors indict Choi on charges of abuse of power and attempted fraud on Nov. 20.
Park makes her third televised apology on Nov. 29, asking parliament to decide how and when she should give up her power over the scandal.
December 2016: Parliament votes for impeachment
In the photo below, South Korea's parliament votes to impeach Park on Dec. 9. She is stripped of powers while awaiting a court decision on the vote. Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn becomes acting president.
Park denies wrongdoing on New Year's Day, calling accusations a "fabrication and falsehood."
February: Samsung executive arrested and indicted
Samsung Group chief Jay Y. Lee is arrested on Feb. 17 and indicted Feb. 28 by special prosecutors on bribery and embezzlement charges.
Special prosecutors said Lee — seen in the photo below arriving at the office of the independent counsel team on Feb. 19 in Seoul — colluded with Choi to take bribes from Samsung, paving the way for Park to be prosecuted if she is ousted from office.
March: Park removed from office
On March 10, South Korea's Constitutional Court upholds parliament's vote to impeach Park.
She becomes the first democratically elected leader in the country's history to be ousted from office.
