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Court hands former South Korean president 20-year prison sentence — media

The politician was not present during today’s hearing, since she has boycotted court hearings since 2017

Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye

© AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

MOSCOW, July 10. /TASS/. The Supreme Court of South Korea reviewed the earlier sentence for former President Park Geun-hye, issued over charges of influence peddling and embezzlement, and sentenced her to 20 years in prison Friday, according to Yonhap news agency.

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Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye sentenced to 24-year prison term

Specifically, the court sentenced the 68-year old politician to 15 years in prison for taking bribes. Tacking on the other charges against her, among them influence peddling, she received an additional five-year jail term and a fine of about $15 million.

Earlier, the prosecutors asked the court to sentence Park Geun-hye to 30 years in prison, along with a fine of about $19 million.

In August 2019, the Supreme Court ordered to review Park’s case, which initially resulted in a 25-year sentence. This ruling was motivated by the need to separately review the charges of bribery and influence peddling.

Following her 2017 impeachment, Park was sentenced to 25 years in prison and slapped with a $19-million fine for influence peddling and corruption. She was accused of conspiring with a confidant, Choi Soon-sil, in a bid to extort bribes from major corporations, including Samsung. In addition, in 2018, she was also accused of taking kickbacks from the National Intelligence Service authorities.

Up till now, Park’s charges had carried a total penalty of 32 years in prison. Thus, this ruling shortens her sentence. The politician was not present during today’s hearing, since she has boycotted court hearings since 2017.

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