Ex-South Korean President Park Geun-hye imprisoned 24 years

Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, has been discovered guilty of  abuse of power and bribery and jailed for 24 years. The Seoul central District courtroom pronounced both the guilty verdict and sentencing  today on live tv. Park was absent in courtroom, though her flag-waving supporters gathered outside.

Park, the daughter of assassinated dictator Park Chung-hee, faced a total of 18 charges. The court ruled that Park colluded along with her old friend, Choi soon-sil, to receive tens of billions of won from main conglomerates such as Samsung and Lotte to help Choi’s family and fund non-profit foundations owned by her. Prosecutors sought a 30-year sentence and a 118.5 billion won ($112 million) fine for Park, after indicting her on charges that covered bribery, abuse of power and coercion. Park was impeached and arrested in March 2017. The amazing fall from grace of a former conservative icon who cast herself in the position of an incorruptible “Daughter of the nation” has captivated South Koreans either side of the political divide.

Park Geun-hye