Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to gather in central Seoul Saturday to demand President Park Geun-hye’s resignation from office over a corruption scandal involving one of her acquaintances who allegedly meddled in state affairs and pursued unlawful benefits.

Police estimate around 30,000-40,000 protesters will gather in central Seoul in the latest series of rallies that began a week earlier.

Organizers, on the other hand, insist up to 100,000 may join the rally, citing the public‘s escalating anger towards the presidential office.

On Friday, local pollster Gallup Korea said Park’s approval rating crashed to 5 percent this week, marking the lowest-ever rating for an incumbent South Korean president in the country‘s history.

Police said it planned to deploy some 20,000 officers who have been specifically instructed to not provoke protesters.

They still acknowledged that some confrontations may be inevitable should the protesters attempt to march along, possibly toward the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae. The police have rejected an earlier request for a marching rally.

The protest rally comes amid allegations that Choi Soon-sil, a close friend of Park, has assumed the role of an eminence grise since the Park administration came into office in February 2013, exerting influence in state affairs while holding no public seat in the administration.

She is also suspected to have had unauthorized access to presidential documents, which allowed her to even edit the president’s speeches before they were given.

The 60-year-old was placed under prosecution custody during her interrogation earlier this week. A local court issued a warrant for her detention on Thursday.

Protesters will also conduct a funeral for Baek Nam-gi, a protester who died late September after being knocked down by a police water cannon during an anti-government rally held in November last year. 

(The Korea Herald)