[Yonhap Photo]
President Park Geun-hye's unheralded first public activity in five weeks received a cold response Thursday at her traditional political home base, reflecting widespread public fury over her involvement in a corruption scandal.
Excited by Park's sudden presence, some people in Daegu some 240 kilometers (149 miles) southwest of Seoul sent out cheers, but Facebook live footages showed most other people turning their backs as she returned to her car following her quiet ten-minute trip to a traditional market gutted by a disastrous fire.
The blaze on Wednesday destroyed 679 shops and left two firefighters injured.
Park, dressed in a long black winter jacket, strolled about the burned section of the market, surrounded by security guards and aides that effectively formed a security shield. She left without saying anything special during her visit.
According to online media reports, angry shop owners shouted "Have you come here only to take pictures?" One was quoted as saying, "How can you say nothing!"
It was Park's first official appearance outside the Blue House since October 27 when the scandal involving her longtime friend and presidential aides erupted. The disgraced leader is now pinched to the corner by popular demands for her early ouster. In parliament, opposition parties are pushing for a parliamentary vote to impeach the president.
Aju News Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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