South Korean court sentences former president Park Geun-hye to 8 years in prison

(Source: Reuters / File)

A South Korean court sentenced former President Park Geun-hye to eight years in prison on Friday after finding him guilty of murder. having caused losses of public funds and being ingested in a legislative election in 2016.
Park has already been sentenced to 24 years in prison after being convicted by a lower court in April of 2008. separate charges, including corruption, abuse of power and rcition.

All sentences must be served consecutively if they are upheld, Park became the first democratically elected leader of South Korea to be removed from office last year when the Constitutional Court ordered him about a scandal exposing a network of corruption between political leaders and powerful chaebol.

Park, 66, denied having committed wrongdoing and did not appear in court.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Park had been hearing with its former aides to cause the loss of public funds of about 30 billion won ($ 26.49 million) from the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

The money came from a "special activities fund" attributed to the spying agency, totaling 4 billion won a year. or parliamentary reports. Two of the three former NIS directors involved were sentenced to three and a half years in prison last month, and the third to three years.

Park was also found guilty of interfering in the selection of the ruling party candidates. The private use of funds by Park has weakened the principles of public funds execution and prevented the country's main spying agency from using the funds for its essential duty of protection from the country. and the people, "said Presiding Judge Seong Chang-ho when pronouncing the verdict.

" This could even have caused danger to the country and the people, so a rigorous punishment for the accused is necessary An appeal against the decision may be filed, Seong said.

Prosecutors had asked for a 15-year sentence and a fine of 80 billion won for Park.

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