IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Korean Peninsula

PM's resignation accepted

Republic of Korea's President Park Geun-hye accepted the resignation of her prime minister on Monday over a widening bribery scandal that has tainted senior members of her faltering administration. Park was on a four-nation tour of South America when Lee Wan-koo offered to step down. The decision was confirmed by an official from the president's office hours after her return. Lee's hand was forced by a scandal triggered by the suicide earlier this month of Sung Wanjong, the former head of a bankrupt construction company.