Prosecutors sought a 30-year jail sentence and an £80m fine on charges that included bribery, abuse of power and coercion. In a rare move, the court in Seoul decided to broadcast her trial live, a move Park objected to.
Park colluded with her long-time friend Choi Soon-sil to solicit bribes from South Korean conglomerates including Samsung and retail giant Lotte in exchange for policy favours. Prosecutors charged Park with 21 separate crimes and accused her of working with Choi in taking bribes of at least £25m and pressuring companies to fund nonprofits run by Choi’s family. She was also accused of leaking classified information.
Choi, a pastor’s daughter, had no government experience but was described in a US diplomatic cable as having “complete control over Park’s body and soul during her formative years”. Choi’s influence over the president led one opposition lawmaker to describe Park’s government as “a scary theocracy”.
The scandal exposed what has long been widely suspected in South Korea: the entangled web of government and sprawling business conglomerates that dominate the country’s economy. Park’s rise to the presidency in 2013 was seen as a personal redemption 30 years after her father, then the country’s dictator, was assassinated. But while personally damaging to South Korea’s first female leader, the affair also resulted in a major blow to conservatives in the following election.
Choi was jailed for 20 years in February for using her influence to gain favour and enrich herself, and the heads of Samsung and Lotte were both given shorter prison sentences.
Park denied all the charges against her, although she did apologise for allowing Choi to influence her, the closest she has come to an admission. Park has been in jail since March 2017.
Park was South Korea’s first democratically elected leader to be removed from office outside the electoral process, her downfall coming after weeks of street protests known as the Candlelight Revolution, a parliamentary impeachment and finally an order from the country’s constitutional court.
Despite the scandal, Park still commands a loyal following in South Koreaespecially among the elderly. They supported her hawkish line on North Korea and fondly remember her father who ruled for 18 years starting in 1961 and lifted the country out of post-war poverty.
Park’s predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, is also facing corruption charges and is accused of a host of crimes ranging from bribery to abuse of power to embezzlement and tax evasion. Two previous leaders were convicted of treason, mutiny and corruption in 1996, with one receiving a death sentence, but both were later pardoned.
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