Park was jailed for 32 years, extended imprisonment for South Korean ex-president

July 20, 2018

According to a Seoul court, the former South Korean president was corrupted by the intelligence services and influenced the parliamentary elections. Park Geun Hye is therefore sentenced to an additional eight years in prison. The 66-year-old rejects the allegations.

Former South Korean President Park Geun Hye was sentenced to an additional eight years in prison. A six-year prison term was imposed on them for illegally accepting funds from the state's secret services, the Seoul Central District Court said. For another two years, the ex-president must go to jail because she has violated the electoral laws. She intervened illegally in the selection of candidates for the 2016 parliamentary elections. Park had rejected the allegations.

Park was sentenced to 24 years in prison for corruption and abuse of power in early April. They received illegally converted from several companies about 18 million euros or promised, the court justified the verdict in April. In addition to the prison sentence Park was ordered to pay 18 billion won (just under 14 million euros).

Prison sentences are added, so that the 66 year old is 32 years in prison. The scandal has deeply divided the country and in March 2017 led to premature dismissal parks. In February, Parks Trusted Choi was sentenced to 20 years in prison for corruption. In particular the park relations with Choi had awakened the public.

Condemned Intelligence Leaders

In mid-July, three former intelligence officers were sentenced to several years in prison. They had transferred huge amounts of money to Park. The Seoul District Court said the three men guilty of embezzling a total of 3.5 billion won during the Park administration, reported the Yonhap national news agency. The money had been allocated to special activities by the authorities.

Three former chiefs of intelligence, Lee Byung Kee and Lee Byung Ho were sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Nam Jae Joon, who was detained for unlawful interference during the 2012 presidential election, was sentenced to three years in prison. The court said the three, according to Yonhap, however, the corruption charge. They reportedly inflicted losses on the state by diverting money illegally and transferring it to the presidential office. But it was hard to prove that they were expecting some compensation from Park.

Source: n-tv.de