美国国家公共电台 NPR South Korean Judges Uphold President Park Geun-hye's Impeachment

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And those are sounds from the city of Seoul this morning, celebration in the streets following a historic ruling in South Korea that has ousted¹ that nation's president from office. The highest court in the country upheld a vote by lawmakers to impeach² President Park Geun-hye over allegations of corruption³ and abuse of power. NPR's Elise Hu has been covering this story, and she's in Seoul. Good morning, Elise.

ELISE HU, BYLINE⁴: Good morning.

GREENE: So how big a deal is this?

HU: It's huge, David. It's historic. She is the first South Korean leader to be removed from office by impeachment⁵. And Park is making history for the second time because she was also the nation's first female president. This ouster here is also a big deal in the context of who Park Geun-hye is. She's the daughter of the country's longtime dictator, Park Chung-hee, who ruled South Korea for a lot of the 1960s and 1970s. Older generations of Koreans have a lot of nostalgia⁶ for him, which actually helped the younger Park's political career. But now her legacy⁷ is mired⁸ in scandal and this constitutional defeat. Park will have to return to life as a private citizen. And the placeholder South Korean leaders, who are led now by an acting⁹ president, are calling for unity¹⁰ in this moment.

GREENE: Well, it sounds like what many people want to do in this moment is celebrate. I mean, you were outside that courtroom. People seemed jubilant.

HU: Well, they're relieved more than anything else because the wait for this impeachment trial and decision has lasted several months, so the anticipation¹¹ was really thick. And thousands of Park supporters, of course, aren't so ecstatic about this decision. They crowded on one street in front of the court. Park opponents took up a different street. Both sides had giant screens that are used for outdoor concerts to stream the ruling's announcement. And on the anti-Park, pro-impeachment side, once that decision was read, it was really like being at the end of a college sports championship where the crowd just goes crazy. Take a listen.

(CHEERING)

GREENE: My God, that sounds like a winning touchdown being scored. Amazing.

HU: (Laughter) Yeah, exactly. But on the other side, Park supporters reacted quite emotionally and some of them violently, breaking police vehicle windows. So far, a news photographer has been injured and two demonstrators have died in the chaos¹² outside the courthouse.

GREENE: Elise, you've been covering this story for months now. For people who haven't been following every twist and turn, remind us how we got here.

HU: President Park is actually named as a criminal suspect in South Korea's largest-ever political corruption scandal. She's accused of secretly entrusting¹³ government decisions to an old friend of hers named Choi Soon-sil who held no official title. And she's also accused of working in concert with this Choi to extort¹⁴ some $70 million in bribes¹⁵ from major companies, like Samsung, that wanted to stay in the government's favor. Park herself has denied the charges, but since prosecutors¹⁶ have already named her as an accomplice¹⁷, she could now face criminal charges. She was previously¹⁸ immune from them as president. Now that immunity¹⁹ is gone; so is her $10,000 a month government pension.

GREENE: So what happens next?

HU: There's no president. There's this acting president. And campaign season has essentially²⁰ begun because this decision triggers a snap election, which is expected to happen in early May. The Park government - her ministers and her prime minister - will continue until the new leader is elected. All the while, of course, there's the question of North Korea and its advancing missile program. And the U.S. is beginning to deploy²¹ a controversial missile defense²² system in South Korea. So what this means for a lot of the security questions in the region is an open question.

GREENE: OK. It is official this morning, the president of South Korea has been ousted from office. That's NPR's Elise Hu in Seoul. Thanks, Elise.

HU: You bet.

1 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

2 impeach   

v.弹劾；检举

参考例句：

• We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
• The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

6 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

7 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

8 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

11 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

12 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

13 entrusting   

v.委托，托付( entrust的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• St. Clare had just been entrusting Tom with some money, and various commissions. 圣？克莱亚刚交给汤姆一笔钱，派他去办几件事情。 来自辞典例句
• The volume of business does not warrant entrusting you with exclusive agency at present. 已完成的营业额还不足以使我方目前委托你方独家代理。 来自外贸英语口语25天快训

14 extort   

v.勒索，敲诈，强要

参考例句：

• The blackmailer tried to extort a large sum of money from him.勒索者企图向他勒索一大笔钱。
• They absolutely must not harm the people or extort money from them.严格禁止坑害勒索群众。

15 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

16 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

17 accomplice   

n.从犯，帮凶，同谋

参考例句：

• She was her husband's accomplice in murdering a rich old man.她是她丈夫谋杀一个老富翁的帮凶。
• He is suspected as an accomplice of the murder.他涉嫌为这次凶杀案的同谋。

18 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

19 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

20 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

21 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

22 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。