A South Korean court on Friday sentenced former President Park Geun Hye to 24 years imprisonment for corruption, Straitstimes reports.
Hye was found guilty on multiple criminal charges, including bribery and abuse of power after a trial that lasted more than 10 months.
Judge Kim Se Yoon ruled that the convict colluded with her long-time confidante, Choi Soon Sil, to receive tens of billions won from major conglomerates like; Samsung; the world’s top smartphone maker and retail giant Lotte to help Choi’s family as well as fund a non-profit foundation owned by her.
Judge Kim Se Yoon said,
“The amount of bribery the accused received or demanded in collaboration with Choi amounts to more than 23 billion won (S$28.6 million). I sentence the accused to 24 years in prison and 18 billion won in fines.”
“The President abused the power which was given to her by the citizens,” the judge said, adding a tough sentence was needed to send a firm message to the country’s future leaders.”
The 66-year-old Hye, who is the daughter of a former dictator, was ousted from power in March 2017 following months of street protests.
She was the country’s first woman leader but later became a figure of public fury and ridicule after she was arrested and kept in police custody for almost a year over corruption scandal that exposed shady links between big business and politics.
