South Korean court hands ex-president 24-year sentence

A South Korean court on Friday sentenced ousted President Park Geun-hye to 24 years in prison in the corruption scandal that led to her removal from office. The Seoul Central District Court convicted Park of bribery, abuse of power, and extortion, in a nationally televised verdict. The court, which also levied a $16.8 million fine, accused Park of conspiring with longtime friend Choi Soon-sil to pressure 18 business groups into donating $72.3 million to two foundations controlled by Choi. Park also faced accusations of taking bribes from some of the companies, including more than $6.5 million from Samsung. Chief Judge Kim Se-yun said Park, the country’s first female president and daughter of former dictator Park Chung-hee, showed no remorse and continued to deflect blame. “It’s inevitable that the defendant should be held strictly responsible for her crimes, if only to prevent the unfortunate event of a president abusing the power granted by the people and throwing state affairs into chaos from happening again,” Kim said. Authorities removed Park from office and arrested her in March 2017 after months of protests calling for her removal. She refused to attend Friday’s court session, citing a sickness.