By Kim Se-jeong
The trial of former President Park Geun-hye who was indicted for corruption involving her confidant Choi Soon-sil resumes Monday, 42 days after it came to a halt.
According to the Seoul Central District Court, a hearing will begin at 10 a.m. Monday, but the likelihood of Park attending is very low.
The trial was stopped in October after her legal representatives resigned in protest of the court’s decision to approve an extension of Park’s detention. She was assigned five new public attorneys but has rejected meeting with them.
Charges against Park include collusion with her confidant, Choi, to extort money from local conglomerates.
In return, she allegedly gave the companies illegal business favors. For Samsung, Park is alleged to have assisted a merger by pushing its biggest shareholder, the National Pension Service, to vote in favor of it. The National Pension Service is a public organization.
She is also charged with ordering the creation of a blacklist of so-called anti-government artists and entities to deny them government subsidies. CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik is expected to testify against her on that issue.
During a National Assembly hearing in December last year, Sohn testified that Cheong Wa Dae had pressured him to remove Lee Mi-kyung as CEO for approving funding motion pictures that were supposedly anti-government.
Park’s downfall was one of the most symbolic of the most powerful persons in the country.
The scandal saw her removed from her post in March this year. Lawmakers voted to impeach Park in late 2016 and the Constitutional Court later removed her from power. Many people had taken their anger to the streets and pushed the Assembly for the impeachment.
Park supporters formed a united front against the anti-Park protesters, waging counter protests and supporting her legitimacy and calling for her release from detention.
On Saturday, almost 3,000 Park supporters gathered in front of Deoksu Palace, waving Korean flags and chanting “Stop political revenge on her” and “Release her from detention.”