[Joint Press Corps.]
SEOUL -- As a key culprit behind a corruption scandal that revealed deep-rooted collusive ties between businessmen and politicians, South Korea's ousted ex-president Park Geun-hye received a 24-year jail sentence Friday after a court found her guilty of abusing her power to extort money from businessmen.
Park was also slapped with a fine of 18 billion won (16.8 million US dollars) in the verdict delivered by the Seoul Central District Court in a session televised live for two hours.
"The defendant abused the presidential power entrusted by the people, resulting in great confusion in the order of state and leading to the unprecedented impeachment of the president," the verdict said.
Strict punishment is required so that South Korean presidents cannot abuse their power again, the court said, scolding Park for showing no repentance while trying to shift responsibility to other people, although she and her crony, Choi Soon-sil, are the main culprit behind the scandal.
Choi was sentenced to 20 years in prison in February on charges of causing a state crisis by controlling government affairs arbitrarily for her personal interests.
[Yonhap Photo]
Park did not attend Friday's court session, arguing the live TV coverage of her sentencing is an infringement of her rights. She started boycotting hearings on October 16 last year in protest at her extended detention.
Park, 66, was accused of undermining the value of the constitution by privatizing the president's authority. Prosecutors demanded a 30-year jail term, slamming her for betraying the confidence of voters with collusive ties with businessmen, providing protection for the illegal activity of her crony and allowing her to step in state affairs.
The court ruled that Park had "seriously violated the freedom of business management" by abusing her status and authority to collect money from businessmen. The scandal fanned public sentiment against corporate donations, leading to the arrests of Samsung's de facto leader Jay Y. Lee and Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin.
In February, Lee was released from prison after an appeals court suspended his sentence, while Shin was jailed in court after he was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.
Park, who took office in early 2013 for her five-year term, was ousted after the constitutional court upheld her impeachment on March 10 last year. Park was additionally indicted for accepting some 3.65 billion won from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) between May 2013 and July 2016. Prosecutors claimed the NIS fund was used for private purposes.
The ex-president has denied charges of bribery, abuse of authority, coercion and leaking state secrets to Choi, who was arrested in November 2016 at the height of political turmoil and massive candle-lit protests.
[Photograph by Yoo Dae-gil = dbeorlf123@ajunews.com]
The prosecution was not satisfied, vowing to appeal, but Park's former lawyers insisted the ex-president is innocent because she earned no personal gains.
Thousands of riot police maintained tight security in and outside the compound of the court as hundreds of pro-Park supporters waving U.S. and South Korean flags demanded the ex-president's release.
Park was also found guilty of playing a role in blacklisting outspoken figures to prohibit government agencies from providing financial support to them. Her former aides and former culture minister Cho Yoon-sun were arrested for creating and managing a list of more than 9,000 figures.
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