The sentence of 20 years in prison for Park Geun-hye, the former President of South Korea, has been finalized by the Supreme Court.
On Thursday, the highest court of the country upheld the ruling of the lower court, which included fines worth 16 million U.S. dollars and the forfeiture of 3.1 million.
In the prison sentence, 15 years are for bribery and the rest are for abuse of power and other crimes.
She had already been given two years for convictions that she did not appeal, so that’s 22 years in total.
“The final verdict from the Supreme Court marks the end of a four-year political drama that stirred up the country. It also means four former presidents have now been convicted of a crime committed while in power.”
The case started in late 2016 when a news program reported on the content of a tablet PC it had obtained that showed the extent of the influence over the President held by her close confidant Choi Soon-sil specifically, that Park had given Choi access to confidential information and even let her edit her speeches.
The revelation prompted massive protests in the street, and led to Park’s impeachment by the National Assembly.
Five months later, the Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment, and the prosecution began a criminal investigation.
Park made her first appeal to the Supreme Court in 2019 over her sentence, at the time, of 30 years.
The Supreme Court told the lower court to reconsider the sentence, and it was reduced to the now-final 20 years.
Some politicians have started calling for President Moon Jae-in to grant a pardon to Park Geun-hye and to former President Lee Myung-bak, whose own sentence was finalized last year.
Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News.
On Thursday, the highest court of the country upheld the ruling of the lower court, which included fines worth 16 million U.S. dollars and the forfeiture of 3.1 million.
In the prison sentence, 15 years are for bribery and the rest are for abuse of power and other crimes.
She had already been given two years for convictions that she did not appeal, so that’s 22 years in total.
“The final verdict from the Supreme Court marks the end of a four-year political drama that stirred up the country. It also means four former presidents have now been convicted of a crime committed while in power.”
The case started in late 2016 when a news program reported on the content of a tablet PC it had obtained that showed the extent of the influence over the President held by her close confidant Choi Soon-sil specifically, that Park had given Choi access to confidential information and even let her edit her speeches.
The revelation prompted massive protests in the street, and led to Park’s impeachment by the National Assembly.
Five months later, the Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment, and the prosecution began a criminal investigation.
Park made her first appeal to the Supreme Court in 2019 over her sentence, at the time, of 30 years.
The Supreme Court told the lower court to reconsider the sentence, and it was reduced to the now-final 20 years.
Some politicians have started calling for President Moon Jae-in to grant a pardon to Park Geun-hye and to former President Lee Myung-bak, whose own sentence was finalized last year.
Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News.
Reporter : tkim@arirang.com
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