Ousted S Korean leader’s friend jailed
SOUTH KOREA: A South Korean court has sentenced a longtime friend of ousted leader Park Geunhye to three years in jail for using her presidential ties to unlawfully get her daughter into a prestigious Seoul university.
The Seoul Central District Court said yesterday that Choi Soon-sil ‘‘committed so many illegal activities’’ as she pressured Ewha Womans University to grant admission and then provide academic favours to her daughter Chung Yoo-ra, despite Chung’s questionable qualifications.
Choi, Park’s friend of 40 years, is being tried separately over more serious charges, including allegations that she colluded with Park to take tens of millions of dollars from the country’s largest companies in bribes and through extortion.
Following months of massive protests by millions and her impeachment by lawmakers last December, Park was formally removed from office and arrested over the corruption scandal in March. She was indicted in April on bribery and other charges.
Choi Kyung-hee, Ewha’s former president, and Namkung Gon, the university’s former head of admissions, also received shorter prison terms yesterday for providing Chung with favourable treatment.
Chung was extradited from Denmark in May and is being investigated by prosecutors, who see her as a key figure in the suspected bribery connections between Park and corporate giant Samsung.
According to prosecutors, Park colluded with Choi Soon-sil to take about US$26 million in bribes from Samsung, and was promised tens of millions more from Samsung and other companies.
The allegations that Chung was sponsored by Samsung and received academic favours helped to drive the popular anger that led to Park’s ouster.
Many students were among the millions who protested against Park for weeks, angry that Chung received a free pass into an elite school because of her wealth and connections.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Moon Jae-in yesterday observed a test firing of a new midrange missile the country is developing to cope with growing threats from North Korea.
North Korea had carried out another test of a rocket engine that the United States believed could be part of its programme to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile, a US official said yesterday.
The US assessed that the test, the latest in a series of engine and missile tests this year, could be for the smallest stage of an ICBM rocket engine, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A second US official also confirmed the test but did not provide additional details on the type of rocket component that was being tested or whether it fitted into the ICBM programme.
The disclosure of the engine test came a day after the US pressed China to exert more economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea to help rein in its nuclear and missile programmes, during a round of high-level talks in Washington.
China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, told US President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House that Beijing was willing to ‘‘maintain communication and coordination’’ with the US in an effort to defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Experts say Pyongyang could still be years away from have a reliable ICBM capability.
The continental US is about 9000 kilometres from North Korea. ICBMs have a minimum range of about 5500km, but some are designed to travel 10,000km or further. – AP, Reuters