Park Geun-hye, an impeached president of South Korea on Friday, April 6, 2018, was sentenced by a South Korean court to 24 years in jail with a fine of 18 billion won (17 million U.S. dollars) for corruption.
The court found Park guilty of bribery over a scandal that exposed webs of corruption between political leaders and the country’s conglomerates.
The court ruled that Park colluded with her old friend, Choi Soon-sil, to receive tens of billions of won from major conglomerates such as Samsung and Lotte to help Choi’s family and fund non-profit foundations owned by her.
Park, 66, has denied wrongdoing and was not present in court.
Prosecutors initially sought a 30-year sentence and a 118.5 billion won (112 million dollars) fine for Park, after indicting her on charges that included bribery, abuse of power and coercion.
