[Yonhap News Photo]
South Korea's prime minister will attend the summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Peru this week in place of President Park Geun-hye who has been under mounting public pressure at home to step down over a massive corruption scandal involving her longtime friend.
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting, which will run for two days in on Saturday and Sunday in Lima, Hwang's office said.
It marked the first time for a South Korean leader to skip the annual summit since it was launched in 1993.
The scandal over Choi Soon-sil, accused of meddling in state affairs, has seriously tarnished Park's image and authority, triggering the worst crisis of her political career.
Park's leadership crisis went on worsening this week because of her refusal to face an early investigation by prosecutors.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
