Large-scale rally held in Seoul calling for Park's resignation

According to Yonhap News Agency, police estimated up to 43,000 protesters gathered at Gwanghwamun Square in the heart of the capital, while organizers insisted that up to 100,000 people took part in the rally.

Some 20,000 officers were deployed to the site, police said, according to Yonhap.

The police were on alert to prevent the protesters from marching toward the presidential office, placing large barricades on a road leading from the square to the Blue House.

Thousands rallied here last weekend over the revelations that Park allowed a personal friend to meddle in state affairs and use her relationship with the president for financial gain.

In an emotional televised address on Friday, Park renewed her apology for the deepening scandal and said she is even ready to accept an investigation.

Her friend, Choi Soon Sil, was formally arrested on Thursday on charges of fraud and abuse of power and is in the custody of prosecutors. She is the daughter of President Park's late mentor Choi Tae Min, widely known as a leader of a questionable religious group.

The approval rating for Park, whose five-year single term ends in 16 months, has tumbled to just 5 percent, according to a Gallup Korea survey. It is the lowest result level of support in the poll since the country's transition to democracy in 1987.

Source: Kyodo