AKIPRESS.COM - South Korea's President Park Geun-hye has said she has asked parliament to help her find a way to stand down, BBCreported.

Ms Park faced growing calls to resign amid an investigation into whether she allowed a long-time friend to influence political decisions for personal gain.

She said she would "leave to parliament everything about my future including shortening of my term", but did not want to leave a power vacuum.

Parliament was due to discuss on Friday whether she should face impeachment.

Opposition parties have said the president should stand down "honourably" before it reached that point.

Ms Park has apologised twice before, and has said she is "heartbroken" by the political crisis around her, but has refused to stand down.

In Tuesday's televised address, her third since reports of the scandal began, Ms Park said she would step down "once lawmakers come up with measures to transfer power in a way that minimises any power vacuum and chaos in governance".

A spokesman for the opposition Democratic Party, Youn Kwan-suk, said the speech was a "trick" which "lacked reflection".

"What people want is her immediate resignation, not dragging out and dodging the responsibility to the parliament," he told the Yonhap news agency.