Park faces first trial this week

By Kim Bo-eun

Former President Park Geun-hye’s official trial on bribery charges will begin Tuesday.

Bribery is one of the main charges Park faces _ she is suspected of accepting or receiving promises for funds amounting to 59.2 billion won ($53 million) from conglomerates including Samsung.

Although Park was not required to attend pre-trial hearings, she will have to be present for her official trial, at which her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil will also be present. Park’s expected appearance on Tuesday will come 53 days since she was detained at Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, on March 31.

At the trial, prosecutors will elaborate on the 18 charges she faces, and defendants will deliver their pleas on the charges.

Park faces other charges including abuse of power, mishandling classified state information and drawing up a blacklist of artists critical of the government.

Park, who has been flatly denying all of the charges she faces, will likely maintain her not guilty plea at her trial.

Park’s legal representatives have been claiming she was not aware of Choi engaging in illegal acts such as receiving money from Samsung, and that she had not been requested to help Samsung with its transfer of management from Chairman Lee Kun-hee to his son Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

Park and Choi are suspected of having colluded in receiving funds from Samsung in return for facilitating a merger of its affiliates Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, which was designed to increase the junior Lee’s control over the group.

The state-run National Pension Service (NPS), which was the largest shareholder of Samsung C&T, voted in favor of the merger, though it would sustain tremendous losses in the deal. Suspicions are that Cheong Wa Dae pressured NPS to support the merger.

Park is also suspected of having ordered other conglomerates such as Lotte Group to provide funds for the Choi-controlled Mir and K-Sports foundations, in exchange for business favors.

Choi has also been denying allegations that she colluded with Park. However, the prosecution believes Choi and Park shared financial interests, and based on this premise, whatever money Choi received could be seen as also being received by Park.

For Park’s second trial, which will begin Thursday, she will be the only defendant present.

Meanwhile, hearings will be concluded on Tuesday for former NPS chief Moon Hyung-pyo and former NPS chief investment officer Hong Wan-seon for their alleged involvement in having the agency vote for the merger of the Samsung affiliates.

Hearings for Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who has been indicted on charges of providing funds to Choi, and other group executives will take place Wednesday through Friday.