http://m.koreatimes.co.kr/phone/news/view.jsp?req_newsidx=216871<br /><br /><br /><br /> <br />College students denounce President over 'Choi Soon-sil gate'<br />By Kim Bo-eun<br /><br /><br /><br />University students across the country have condemned President Park Geun-hye over the widening scandal surrounding her close confidant Choi Soon-sil.<br /><br />They issued statements, Wednesday, a day after Park apologized to the public and acknowledged that Choi had access to her speeches and edited them, alleging that she influenced state affairs. Choi is the daughter of the President’s mentor Choi Tae-min and ex-wife of her former aide Chung Yoon-hoi.<br /><br />Students at Ewha Womans University, where controversy broiled over the controversial enrollment of Choi’s daughter Chung Yoo-ra, were the first to speak up.<br /><br />“Not only the President’s speech scripts but also diplomacy and security files and even the content of telephone calls with foreign heads of states were reported to Choi,” the students said in a statement. “This is a clear violation of the constitutional order.<br /><br />“In the U.S., Hillary Clinton has been criticized ahead of the election for having posed a threat to national security by using her personal email account instead of the account provided by the state. But in Korea, the President is providing classified state information to an individual unrelated to the government.”<br /><br />They said a thorough investigation must be conducted and the President must take full responsibility for the matter.<br /><br />At Sogang University, Park’s alma mater, students demanded that she “no longer disgrace the name of the school.”<br /><br />“If the truth is found and people cannot accept you as President, you should step down,” they said, adding the scandal is a serious illegal act that compromised Cheong Wa Dae and the government.<br /><br />“We Sogang people were shocked by the pitiable situation. We urge you not to disgrace the school anymore,” they said.<br /><br />The student body at Kyung Hee University held protests over the scandal.<br /><br />“Choi’s intervention in state affairs is a case unprecedented since the nation was established,” students said.<br /><br />Pusan National University’s student body also denounced the situation.<br /><br />“It is deplorable that there is somebody in power above the President, who was elected by the people, and that corruption by that person in power is widespread in not only political and business arenas but throughout the nation,” it said.<br /><br />The student bodies at dozens of other universities, including Hanyang and Korea universities, plan to issue statements soon. <br />
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