S Korea court says Park trial to proceed

THE trial of disgraced former South Korean president Park Geun-Hye will proceed without her, a court said yesterday, following a hiatus of more than 40 days as she boycotted proceedings.

Park, who was ousted earlier this year over a sprawling corruption scandal, has refused to appear for her trial, angry at the court’s decision last month to extend her detention by six months.

The ex-president’s legal team quit last month over the decision, accusing the court of bias. Park has since refused to cooperate with a team of state-sponsored defence lawyers appointed by the court, and failed to appear for her trial on Monday and yesterday.

“We have a lot of things to do, including the questioning of many witnesses. Taking into account the limited time . . . we cannot delay the trial any longer,” Presiding Judge Kim SeYoon said yesterday.

Defence lawyers sought to interview Park at the detention centre where she is being held, but she refused to see them,Yonhap news agency said.

Park, 65, submitted a letter to the detention centre on Monday, saying that she cannot appear at her trial because of her health problems. Authorities at the detention centre said that they were unable to force Park out because of her status as a former president of South Korea.

Park was impeached in December after months of mass protests over accusations of graft.