South Korea's Park agrees to resign in April: Yonhap TV

[SEOUL] South Korean President Park Geun-hye will step down in April over an influence-peddling scandal that has shaken Asia's fourth-biggest economy, Yonhap TV said Tuesday, citing ruling party floor leader Chung Jin-suk.

The agreement with her party comes after opposition lawmakers said they might have enough votes to impeach her in a motion set for a vote on Friday. Her resignation would pave the way for a presidential election in 60 days after she stepped down.

If parliament were to impeach her, Ms Park would be suspended from power unless the move was rejected by the constitutional court.

Ms Park will wait for the court's decision if she's impeached, Yonhap TV said. Ms Park's office has yet to confirm the plan.

A resignation offer may be too late to halt momentum for her impeachment. A faction of her party agreed Sunday to support the parliamentary motion regardless of whether she resigns, Chang Je-won, a Saenuri Party lawmaker, said on Facebook. The 29 lawmakers made their decision after witnessing another large protest against Ms Park on Saturday.

Mr Chang's faction would provide the opposition with just enough votes to reach the threshold of 200 required to pass the impeachment motion in the 300-seat National Assembly. More than 170 opposition and independent politicians endorsed the motion filed last week.

BLOOMBERG