Seoul

SOUTH Korean President Park Geun-hye offered to resign on Tuesday if lawmakers can agree on an orderly transition of power, playing for time as she battles an influence-peddling scandal that has brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the street demanding her ouster.

In a televised address in Seoul, Ms Park apologised for a third time since the scandal broke and asked parliament to decide the direction of a "stable" power transition. She maintained she has not sought personal gain, blaming the scandal on associates suspected of extracting tens of millions of dollars from the nation's top businesses.