Seoul, March 10: 92 days after the impeachement proceedings against incumbent S Korean President, Park Geun Hye started, a court has upheld the impeachement verdict and asked the police to now remove the President from office even as the leadership crisis remains unresolved.  

"The negative effects of the President's actions and their repercussions are grave, and the benefits to defending the Constitution by removing her from office are overwhelmingly large," the Constitutional Court's acting Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi said in an announcement which was televised live.
 
According to Korean media reports, Park is the first President to get impeached from officer and the verdict was upheld by all 8 sitting justices of the court.  Of the charges brought against the former President, the court acknowledged the illegality of Park's actions in letting her close friend and confidant Choi Soon-sil meddle in state affairs. 
 
It dismissed the others, such as her abuse of power to appoint government officials, citing a lack of evidence.  On Park's alleged neglect of duty during a 2014 ferry sinking that killed over 300 people mostly students, Lee said the charge did not warrant deliberation by the court.
 
She has already been impeached by the parliament on December 9 and an election to pick up her successor must be held within 60 days, the court ruled.The President's supporters and detractors rallied outside the court as police officers and police buses were deployed to prevent a possible clash.
 
The court's decision strips Park of her immunity from criminal prosecution, which will force her to undergo interrogation by prosecutors over her alleged crimes.Park was the first female President of South Korea. She took office on February 25, 2013. Her father, Park Chung-hee, was the President from 1963 to 1979 after he seized power in 1961.