Choi Soon-sil gets 20-year jail term, fined W18 billion

By Park Si-soo

Choi Soon-sil, the scandal-ridden confidant of former President Park Geun-hye, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined 18 billion won for multiple corruption charges linked to a massive influence-peddling scandal that sparked nationwide anti-government protests and forced Park to leave office in early 2017.

The Seoul Central District Court handed down the ruling on Tuesday, finding her guilty of 18 charges, including bribery, abuse of power and coercion. The ruling came nearly 450 days after Choi, 62, was arrested and indicted on 18 counts of corruption in November 2016.

She was accused of exploiting her ties with the former president and forcing 50 big companies here to pay a combined 77.4 billion won to two nonprofit foundations she controlled. She was also accused of meddling in various state affairs and gaining access to confidential government documents even though she had no title or security clearance

The prosecution demanded 25 years in prison for Choi, with a fine of 118.2 billion won and forfeiture of 7.7 billion won.