'Park takes voices from anti-president rally seriously'

The office of President Park Geun-hye is in the process of discussing measures to allay the public anger following Saturday's massive rally over a corruption scandal involving Park and her close confidante, officials said Sunday.

On Sunday morning, Presidential Chief of Staff Han Gwang-ok and other senior presidential secretaries met to discuss how to cope with the unprecedented protest rally where organizers say more than 1 million people gathered to demand Park's resignation, the officials said.

"Cheong Wa Dae takes the public anger expressed in the rally last night very seriously. It is gathering wisdom to come up with the correct countermeasures to resolve the current political chaos," an official said.

Park observed the rally from her official residence in Cheong Wa Dae, he said without elaborating.

Park has so far made two public apologies but apparently failed to calm public outrage. She has not fully explained her role in the scandal, and her approval rating has plunged to a record low of 5 percent.

Over 1 million people came to the candlelight rally in downtown Seoul, which officially lasted for three hours until 10:30 p.m., according to organizers. Police estimated the figure at 260,000, which surpassed the 170,000 they had initially expected.

The people took to the streets in protest of the unprecedented influence-peddling scandal that involves Park's longtime friend Choi Soon-sil and her close secretaries. Amid allegations that she meddled in a variety of affairs of state, Choi was arrested on charges of fraud and abuse of power early this month.

Three opposition parties also joined the rally, along with some potential presidential hopefuls, such as Moon Jae-in, former chief of the Democratic Party, and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon of the same main opposition party. (Yonhap)