2016–17 South Korean protests
| Park Geun-hye Resignation Movement | ||||
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| Date | 26 October 2016 – 11 March 2017 After Impeachment : 25 March and 15 April 2017 (7 months and 4 days) |
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| Location |  South Korea nationwide |
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| Caused by | Impeachment of President Park Geun-hye | |||
| Goals | Resignation of Park Geun-hye, punishment of Choi Soon-sil, dissolution of Liberty Korea Party | |||
| Methods | Civil resistance, demonstrations, protest marches, picketing | |||
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| Protests against the impeachment of Park Geun-hye | |
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Pro-Park Geun-hye rallies at Seoul Plaza on March 1, 2017
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| Date | 31 October 2016 – present |
| Location | South Korea nationwide |
| Caused by | 2016 South Korean political scandal, Impeachment of Park Geun-hye, 2016 protests against Park Geun-hye in South Korea |
| Goals | Reinstatement of Park Geun-hye |
| Methods | Civil resistance, demonstrations, protest marches, picketing |
| Status | Ongoing |
Since October 2016, a series of protests against President Park Geun-hye have occurred throughout South Korea. After the initial demonstrations on October 26, 2016, thousands of South Korean protesters denounced the Park administration's political scandal and called for the resignation of Park Geun-hye.
Meanwhile, a series of protests led by the supporters of President Park have occurred in the country as well. After the impeachment of Park Geun-hye on corruption charges in December, the pro-Park rallies have grown substantially, accompanied with a large mobilization of hundreds of thousands of protesters. The nation has been divided by the increasing conflicts between supporters and opponents of President Park. In February 2017, the Liberty Korea Party, the ruling party of South Korea, claimed that the size of pro-Park rallies have begun to overwhelm the size of anti-Park rallies.
In October 2016, a political scandal erupted over President Park Geun-hye's undisclosed links to Choi Soon-sil. Choi Soon-sil, a woman with no security clearance and no official position, was found to have been giving secret counsels to the president.
Choi Soon-sil had known President Park since the 1970s when her father, Choi Tae-min, was then-president Park Chung-hee's mentor while the family was still grieving from the assassination of then first-lady Yuk Young-soo. Choi at that time claimed that the shamanic leader can channel communication to her dead mother.
Both have remained friends since, even up to the point when Park Geun-hye became president. Park's imperial manner during her tenure has raised suspicions due to her lack of communication with parts of the government and the press.
Choi, who has no official government position, was revealed to have access to confidential documents and information for the president, and acted as a close confidante for the president. Choi and President Park's senior staff used their influence to extort ₩77.4 billion (~$774 million) from Korean chaebols – family-owned large business conglomerates – setting up two media and sports-related foundations, the Mir and K-sports foundations. She embezzled money during the process, and it is reported that some of them were used to support her daughter Chung Yoo-ra's dressage activities in Germany. She is also accused of rigging the admissions process at Ewha Womans University to help her daughter get accepted at the university. Ahn Jong-bum, a top presidential aide, was arrested for abusing power and helping Choi; he denied wrongdoing and claims he simply followed presidential orders.
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