South Korea's Park cries during rare public appearance after birthplace of late father hit by arson
The suspect allegedly called on the scandal-hit leader to quit
Battered by massive protests and an impeachment push, South Korea’s president on Thursday made her first public appearance among her citizens since a huge political scandal exploded in October, as police arrested a man accused of setting fire to her dictator father’s birthplace in a nearby city.
President Park Geun-hye’s visit to a rural market came as opponents in parliament squabble over whether to impeach her.
Police said they arrested a 48-year-old man who told investigators he set fire to the birthplace of Park’s late father on Thursday because he was angry over her refusal to step down immediately over the scandal involving a confidant accused of influence peddling and extortion.
The suspect was previously convicted of setting fire to the birthplace of another former president, Roh Tae-woo, in 2012, according to police.
“The president should have resigned or killed herself. I set the fire because she did neither,” the suspect was quoted as saying by the police, according to Yonhap news agency.
Police were investigating whether he had written a message in the visitors’ book Thursday which read “Kill yourself, Park Geun-hye. Stop soiling your father’s name”, Yonhap added