Abrar Hussain: A South Korean court has sentenced former president Park Geun-hye to an additional eight years in prison yesterday after she was found guilty on charges of causing loss of government funds and interfering in a 2016 parliamentary election.
Park was already sentenced to 24 years in jail by a lower court in April on separate charges including bribery, abuse of power and coercion.
All sentences must be served consecutively, a court spokeswoman said.
Park, 66, was absent from court and denied all charges. Park became South Korea’s first democratic leader to be removed from office after a scandal last year that exposed a network of corrupt political leaders and top conglomerates of the country.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Park colluded with her former aides to cause the loss of government funds worth about 30 billion won ($26.5 million) from the National Intelligence Service (NIS). The court ordered a fine of 33 billion won. Park was also found guilty of interfering in the ruling party’s selection of candidates for the parliamentary election, breaching the president’s obligations to remain politically neutral.
Source: Reuters