Appeal court extends sentence of former South Korea president Park Geun-hye to 25 years

A South Korean appeal court sentenced former president Park Geun-hye to 25 years in jail on Friday, in a case arising from a far-reaching corruption scandal that toppled her from power in 2017.

As local source report, the Seoul High Court found that Park colluded with her friend, Choi Soon-sil, to receive tens of billions of won from major conglomerates to help Choi’s family and fund non-profit foundations owned by her.

The court also fined Park, the daughter of a former military dictator, 20 billion won (US$17.86 million) after finding her guilty of charges including bribery and coercion.

Park, 66, has been in jail since March 31 last year but has denied wrongdoing and was not present in court. She returned to South Korea’s presidential palace in 2012 as the country’s first woman leader more than three decades after she left it following the assassination of her father.