Park's lawyer denies all corruption charges at first hearing

Former President Park Geun-hye's lawyer denied all the corruption charges that led to her dismissal during the first preliminary hearing of her trial Tuesday.

Park, who has been jailed since March 31, was absent from the hearing at the Seoul Central District Court as her attendance was not mandatory.

Yoo Yeong-ha, her lawyer, said he would formally state his position on the charges after completing a review of the prosecution's investigation records, which amount to more than 120,000 pages.

A preliminary hearing is held to review the charges brought against a suspect and determine future proceedings.

The former leader faces 18 criminal counts of bribery, abuse of power, coercion and leak of government secrets, mostly involving her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil and key former aides.

"I demand an explanation of the details of the prosecution's indictment sheet," Yoo said.

The lawyer took issue with a series of alleged inconsistencies in the charges. He claimed Park's powers were suspended in December after the parliament passed an impeachment motion, but the prosecution made it appear that she exercised presidential authority until the Constitutional Court ruled to dismiss her in March.

Prosecutors concluded last month that the former president took or solicited bribes worth 59.2 billion won ($51.9 million) from three conglomerates -- Samsung, Lotte and SK -- for herself or her friend.

Attorneys for Choi and Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin were also present at the hearing.

Park is also accused of creating a blacklist of cultural figures deemed critical of the government who were then denied state support, and abusing her power to force local firms to sign business contracts with Choi's companies.

The former president has denied all charges.

If convicted, she could face a prison term ranging from 10 years to life.

The trial comes after a six-month probe that followed revelations of a tablet PC allegedly used by Choi. The device, obtained by a local TV channel, contained documents related to state affairs, some of which the prosecution concluded were official secrets.

Lee Jae-yong, de facto leader of the nation's largest business group Samsung, was also arrested on charges of providing or pledging 43.3 billion won to Choi and, in effect, Park, in return for her help in securing group control through a merger of two key units.

Park is the country's third former president to stand trial over corruption allegations, after Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, who were convicted in the early 1990s.

The court is expected to hold two or three more preliminary hearings before opening the first formal hearing around June. (Yonhap)