The Parliament of South Korea [official website] approved a measure on Thursday to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate President Park Geun-hye [Britannica profile] for allegedly allowing individuals to influence state affairs. It is alleged that Park’s friend, Choi Soon-sil, was permitted to edit confidential speeches and receive funds even though she is not a political official. Choi Soon-sil is also under investigation for embezzling millions of dollars from non-profit organizations for personal uses. The bill was introduced [AP report] by members of the opposing political party, and the president has the power to reject the measure within 15 days, although experts believe this is unlikely. The nation’s constitution protects the president from most instances of criminal prosecution, but investigations are still permitted. Thousands of South Koreans have called for the president’s resignation [JURIST report] since last month.

The investigation into the president is the latest controversy affecting South Korean government officials. In October Park proposed [JURIST report] to amend the country’s constitutional provision that limits presidents to one term in office. Currently, South Korean presidents can only have a single five-year term, and Park finishes her term in office in February 2018. The Korea Fair Trade Commission, South Korea’s antitrust regulator, confirmed [JURIST report] in August that the country is investigating whether Google violated the country’s antitrust laws. In Kyung-joon, a senior prosecutor in South Korea was indicted [JURIST report] in July on charges of bribery by accepting more than USD $11 million from an executive at the online-game company Nexon during collusive stock transactions over a nine-year period.