Court verdict for S.Korea’s ex-president to be live on TV

The corruption verdict and sentencing of South Korea’s ousted ex-president Park Geun-hye will be televised live, a Seoul court said Tuesday, in a case that could see her jailed for up to 30 years.

The 66-year-old daughter of a former dictator was impeached and arrested in March 2017 over a wide-ranging corruption scandal that exposed shady links between big business and politics and prompted massive street protests.

The Seoul Central District Court said it would allow the verdict and sentencing of Park, set for Friday afternoon, to be broadcast live in light of high public interest: the first time a trial has been televised live in South Korea.

It will mark the first time that a verdict and sentencing will be broadcast live since the country’s Supreme Court last year changed guidelines on court proceedings to allow such practices.

Park has been boycotting her trial hearings since the court extended her detention in October, accusing the institution of being biased against her.

Even though she is widely expected not to attend Friday’s verdict and sentencing, she has asked the court not to allow live TV coverage of the hearing.

Prosecutors have demanded a 30-year jail sentence and a 118.5 billion won ($110 million) fine for Park, saying she must take responsibility for the scandal as the former president.

Park is accused of colluding with her convicted longtime friend Choi Soon-sil.