Park in the dock for bribery and corruption

SEOUL // Ousted South Korean president Park Geun-hye was yesterday charged with bribery involving millions of dollars over the corruption and influence-peddling scandal that led to her downfall. Ms Park, whose impeachment was confirmed by Seoul’s top court last month, is at the centre of a sprawling graft investigation, which has implicated leading businessmen and brought millions of people on to the streets.

The former leader, detained at a centre near Seoul, also faces charges of abusing her powers and leaking state secrets, Seoul prosecutors said.

“We have formally charged Park with offences including abuse of power, coercion, bribery and leaking state secrets,” they said.

Ms Park is accused of colluding with her confidante at the heart of the scandal, Choi Soon- sil, who is on trial for coercing local conglomerates into donating 77.4 billion won (Dh250.5m) to two non-profit foundations.

Ms Choi allegedly used some of the donations for personal gain.

MsPark is also accused of offering policy favours to top businessmen who enriched Ms Choi, including Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong who is also on trial for bribery.

Prosecutors yesterday also charged Shin Dong-bin, the chairman of the retail giant Lotte Group, with bribing Ms Choi and Ms Park.