Impeached President Park gets additional prison term
A three-judge panel at Seoul Central District Court sentenced former president Park Geun-hye to an additional 8 years behind bars Friday for causing a loss of state funds and illegally interfering in the 2016 general elections. / Yonhap
By Lee Suh-yoon
Disgraced former President Park Geun-hye who was impeached and removed from office last year, was sentenced to another eight years in prison Friday for causing a loss of state funds and interfering in the 2016 elections.
When added to the 24-year jail term Park is already serving after being found guilty of multiple charges stemming from a massive corruption scandal, the nation's first female president and conservative icon is expected to spend more than three decades behind bars.
The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Park to six years in prisons, while ordering her to forfeit 3.3 billion won ($2.9 million), for incurring losses to the state treasury by regularly taking money from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) between May 2013 and September 2016.
The three-judge panel also sentenced Park to another two years for illegally interfering in the then-ruling Saenuri Party's candidate selection process for the 2016 general election in a move to support her loyalists.
“Given that Park continuously abused her authority to request NIS funds – depleting the state treasury in the process – there is considerable room for criticism,” Judge Sung Chang-ho said in a nationally televised sentencing. “Furthermore, the accused used these funds she received from the NIS heads for private purposes such as maintaining her wardrobe.”
According to the prosecution, Park received “special activity funds” totaling 3.65 billion won from the NIS. Prosecutors requested a 12-year jail sentence, saying the funds were bribes.
Three former NIS chiefs testified that they channeled the funds to Park on her orders.
The court, however, cleared Park of the bribery charges, saying there was not enough evidence to recognize the money as bribes.
The acquittal came after the NIS chiefs and three key aides to Park – all of whom were involved in the charges – were acquitted of bribery.
As soon as the three-judge panel finished its reading the verdict, pro-Park protesters stood up from their seats, shouting at the judges, “stop this communist trial.”
Park, who has denied any wrongdoing, was not present at the courtroom to hear the sentence. She has boycotted court proceedings since last October, citing health problems.
A few hours before Friday's sentencing, prosecutors demanded the former president be given a 30 year jail term – for the second time – in an ongoing appeals case regarding Park's collection of bribes from conglomerates such as Samsung. In April, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Park to 24 years in jail and fined her 18 billion won ($16 million).
“Park has not shown any sincere apology or repentance towards the people and did not attend court proceedings even once after October,” the prosecution said.
Park was ousted from power following mass protests starting in the fall of 2016. Protesters, decrying her corrupt ties to chaebols, demanded she step down. In December 2016, the National Assembly voted to impeach Park.
Shortly after a landmark Constitutional Court ruling that removed her from office in March 2017, Park was arrested and indicted on multiple charges of corruption and abuse of power.