S Korea’s ex-president awaits prosecutor’s decision on arrest

SEOUL: A South Korean judge was expected to deliberate into the early hours of today on whether to arrest ousted president Park Geun-hye, the country’s first democratically elected leader to be thrown out of office, in a corruption scandal that has dominated politics for months.

Park, who could become South Korea’s third former leader to be jailed, is accused of colluding with a friend, Choi Soon-sil, to pressure big businesses to contribute to now-defunct foundations set up to back her policy initiatives.

She gave about eight hours of testimony at Seoul Central District Court yesterday and was being held at the prosecutor’s office next door while the judge studied evidence and arguments to rule on whether to issue an arrest warrant. The decision was not expected to come until the early hours of today, a court official said.

Park, 65, arrived at the court to plead her case that she should not be arrested or held while prosecutors investigate the scandal. Park argues that she didn’t pose a flight risk and wouldn’t try to tamper with evidence. She and Choi have both denied any wrongdoing.

If Park is arrested, prosecutors will then have up to 20 days to file formal charges and put her on trial.

Park’s ousting capped months of paralysis over the corruption scandal. Her impeachment this month left a political vacuum, with only an interim president, pending a May 9 election, at a time of rising tension with North Korea over its weapons programme and China, which opposes South Korea’s decision to host a US anti-missile system.

Park faces possibly more than 10 years in jail if convicted.