Supporters of impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye gather outside Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, on April 6, 2018. Impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye was sentenced to 24 years in prison on Friday over a corruption scandal that exposed the deep-rooted collusive ties between politicians and businessmen viewed as being hard to root out. (Xinhua/Lee Sang-ho)
by Yoo Seungki
SEOUL, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye was sentenced to 24 years in prison on Friday over a corruption scandal that exposed the deep-rooted collusive ties between politicians and businessmen viewed as being hard to root out.
Park was sentenced to 24 years in jail with a fine of 18 billion won (17 million U.S. dollars). She was found guilty of 16 corruption charges that include bribery, abuse of power and coercion.
Prosecutors had charged Park with 18 counts, seeking a 30-year jail sentence with a fine of 118.5 billion won (111.4 million U.S. dollars). Park denied all the charges against her.
Park was removed out of office in March last year over an influence-peddling scandal involving her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil who was jailed for 20 years in February.
The Seoul Central District Court said Park colluded with Choi to abuse presidential power and coerce large business conglomerates, including Samsung and Lotte, to donate tens of millions of U.S. dollars to two nonprofit foundations controlled by Choi.
Park was convicted of taking bribes, in collusion with Choi, from Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the heir apparent and only son to Chairman Lee Kun-hee, to fund the equestrian training of Choi's daughter.
However, the court rejected the allegation that Samsung made any clear or implied request in return for its donation to Choi's non-profit organizations.
The Samsung heir was set free by the appeals court in February with a two-and-a-half-year jail term suspended for four years. It was a commutation from a five-year imprisonment in the first trial.
Shin Dong-bin, chairman of Lotte Group, the country's fifth-biggest conglomerate, was put under court custody in February with a sentence of two and a half years in jail for bribery.
The court said Park solicited 7 billion won (6.6 million U.S. dollars) in kickback from the Lotte chairman in return for providing business favors. The money was returned back to Lotte later.
Meanwhile, the Seoul court allowed the verdict hearing to be broadcast live. Park objected it citing the violation of the innocence presumption, but the court said it allowed the live broadcating due to the trial's significance, historical meaning and people's right to know.
Park did not appear in the courtroom in protest against the live broadcasting. The ousted president has not shown up in any court hearing since October last year to protest against her extended detention for six more months.
Three weeks after her impeachment last March, Park was taken into custody at a detention center outside of Seoul.
The country's first female leader, who was also the first president to be impeached while in office, could appeal against the ruling within a week.
Park's corruption scandal dealt a big blow to the conservative bloc, but she still has followers especially the elderly. Hundreds of Park's loyalists criticized the sentence outside the court, calling for her immediate release.
