South Korea prosecutors demand 35-year jail term for ex-leader Park

Agence France-Presse

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South Korea prosecutors demand 35-year jail term for ex-leader Park

AFP

Park Geun-hye, the country's first female president, is being retried in the High Court on the bribery, abuse of power and spy agency charges

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korean prosecutors demanded Wednesday, May 20, a 35-year jail term for former president Park Geun-hye who was ousted and later convicted over a sprawling corruption scandal.

Park, the country’s first female president, was brought down in 2017 after huge street protests triggered by allegations that she and a close friend took bribes from top conglomerates for government favors.

She was later sentenced to 32 years in jail for bribery, abuse of power, election law violations and taking money from South Korea’s spy agency.

Park is being retried in the High Court on the bribery, abuse of power and spy agency charges – for which she is serving a combined 30 years – after the Supreme Court ruled the bribery accusation should have been handled separately.

In closing arguments on Wednesday, prosecutors said Park should be jailed for 35 years, Yonhap news agency reported.

They also called for the fine to be increased to 33.3 billion won ($27 million) from the previous penalty of 20 billion won.

South Korea’s first female president boycotted the hearing, Yonhap said.

Park has refused to take part in most of the judicial proceedings against her.

The judge is due to deliver their verdict on July 10.

The corruption scandal exposed shady links between big businesses and politics in South Korea, with Park and her close friend Choi Soon-sil accused of taking bribes from conglomerates including Samsung Electronics in exchange for preferential treatment. – Rappler.com

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