Hundreds of thousands have rallied in South Korea for what is thought to be the largest protests so far demanding President Park Geun-hye steps down.
Ms
Park is accused of allowing her friend, Choi Soon-sil, to manipulate power from
behind the scenes.
The president has
apologised twice on national television, but has so far resisted calls to
resign.
Organisers
said 1.3 million had gathered in capital
Seoul on Saturday night, despite cold weather and snow.
They
expect another half a million protesters to turn out in other regions.
However
police put the turnout at about 260,000. About 25,000 officers were being
deployed in the capital, local media said.
The protests, which
began five weeks ago, are the largest in South Korea since pro-democracy
demonstrations of the 1980s.
Those
attending on Saturday came from a
cross-section of South Korean society, with farmers, Buddhist monks and
university students all involved.
"I was watching
the news and thought this cannot go on - people really want her to step down
but she hasn't," one of the protesters, Kwak Bo-youn, told Reuters.
"This
is the second time for me to the protests, but the first time for my husband and
kids."
The big question -
by BBC's Stephen Evans in Seoul
Convoys
of farmers have been prevented from taking their tractors into Seoul - but the
streets have been packed with people, chanting that President Park Geun-hye
should step down.
Apart
from the corruption allegations, she has become the focus of discontent over
the economy. Farmers, for example, spilled sacks of rice on the road in protest
at low rice prices.
Courts
have permitted demonstrations up to 200 metres from the presidential palace but
only before nightfall.
Tens
of thousands of police are deployed, with the full panoply of anti-riot gear.
The
question is whether the more militant elements will disperse or try to get to
the presidential palace.
Ms
Park, whose approval rating has dropped to 5%, apologised earlier this month
for putting "too much faith in a personal relationship", and has
pledged to co-operate in an official investigation into the scandal.
South
Korea's constitution does not allow a sitting president to be prosecuted, and
Ms Park has 15 months left in her term.
But
now that prosecutors have directly linked her to the scandal, it is possible
she could be impeached for breaking the law.
Prosecutors
are expected to bring charges against Ms Choi, along with two former
presidential aides. She was arrested earlier this month.
Ms
Choi is accused of trying to extort huge sums of money from South Korean
companies, and suspected of using her friendship with Ms Park to solicit
business donations for a non-profit fund she controlled.
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