SEOUL- South Korea disgraced former president Park Geun-hye was jailed for 24 years on Friday for corruption, closing out a dramatic fall from grace for the country’s first woman leader who became a figure of public fury and ridicule.
The sentence follows a long trial that lasted 10 months, where the judge found Park guilty on multiple criminal charges, including bribery and abuse of power.
Judge Kim Se-Yoon spoke of Park’s secret confidante and friend Choi Soon-sil, “The amount of bribery the accused received or demanded in collaboration with Choi amounts to more than 23bn Won ($21.7m),”
“I sentence the accused to 24 years in prison and 18bn Won in fines.”
Park,66, did not appear in many of the court appearances, as she was held in custody and was not in court on Friday during the judgement, in a rare moment the judgement was broadcast live on television.
Park took office in 2013, a daughter of assassinated dictator Park Chung-hee, she was viewed as an conservative icon, and daughter of the nation and was not corruptible.
She was impeached after the allegations of bribery and abuse of power come into light, as millions of civilians held protests for her to resign.
Park and Choi were accused of influence-peddling and taking bribes from corporate giants in exchange for policy favours.
Park has been viewed by many South Koreans as having no remorse during the two year scandal.
Photo Credit- voanews.com
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