South Korea’s shamed ‘Queen of Elections’ sentenced to 24 years
Former leader convicted of corruption after high-profile scandal
Former South Korean president Park Geun-hye was formally convicted of an array of corruption charges and sentenced to 24 years in prison yesterday, a year after she was driven from office and arrested over a scandal that saw months of massive street rallies calling for her ouster.
The conviction, which she can appeal, is the latest indignity for South Korea’s first female president, who grew up in the presidential palace as the daughter of a former dictator and even served as first lady after her mother’s assassination. The harshness of the sentence is likely to deepen divisions in a country still wrestling with the aftermath of the most serious political turmoil in years.
Once seen as the darling of South Korean conservatives, Park earned the nickname “Queen of Elections” for her record leading her party to victory in tight races, culminating in her own election as president in 2012. Yet that was all undone by the scandal involving a close confidant and bribery, extortion and other allegations.
Park, 66, maintains she is a victim of “political revenge” and has been refusing to attend court since October. She didn’t attend yesterday’s verdict, citing a sickness that wasn’t specified publicly.
In a nationally televised verdict, the Seoul Central District Court convicted Park of bribery, extortion, abuse of power and other charges.
“It’s inevitable that the defendant should be held strictly responsible for her crimes, if only to prevent the unfortunate event of a president abusing the power granted by the people and throwing state affairs into chaos from happening again,” chief judge Kim Se-yun said.
Mr Kim said Park has shown no remorse for her wrongdoing and continued to pass responsibility to others with “unconvincing excuses.”
Along with the prison sentence, Mr Kim said Park was also fined 18 billion won (about £11.9 million). Both Park and prosecutors – who had demanded a 30-year sentence – have one week to appeal.
Park’s lawyer, Kang Cheolgu, called the 24-year prison term “very bad” and said the legal team will decide whether to appeal after confirming her willingness.
The court convicted Park of colluding with longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil to pressure 18 business groups to donate a total of 77.4 billion won for the launch of two foundations controlled by Choi.
The two women were also convicted of taking bribes from some of those companies, including more than 7 billion won alone from Samsung. Prosecutors previously alleged that Samsung’s bribe was aimed at getting government support for a smooth company leadership transition, but the court said there was not enough evidence to prove that Samsung sought such favour from the government.
The court said Park colluded with senior government officials to blacklist artists critical of her government to deny them state assistance programs. Park was also convicted of passing on presidential documents with sensitive information to Choi via one of her presidential aides.
The scandal has already led to the arrests, indictments and convictions of dozens of highprofile government officials and business leaders. Choi is serving a 20-year prison term; Samsung scion Lee Jaeyong was initially sentenced to five years in prison before his sentence was suspended on appeal; and Lotte chairman Shin Dong-bin was also given a jail term.
Park has a small group of fierce supporters – most of them middle-aged and older – who regularly stage rallies calling for her release and after the verdict was broadcast, thousands of them marched near the Seoul court to protest the ruling.