[Aju News DB]
SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Aju News) -- Prosecutors demanded a 30-year jail term Tuesday for South Korea's ousted ex-president Park Geun-hye on charges of abusing her power and conspiring with her jailed crony to extort money from top conglomerates in return for business favors.
In a final hearing at a Seoul criminal court, prosecutors called for a fine of 118.5 billion won (110.7 million US dollars), accusing Park of undermining the value of the constitution by privatizing the president's authority. "This incident will be recorded as an irrevocable wound in our history."
Prosecutors slammed Park for betraying the confidence of voters with collusive ties with businessmen, providing protection for Choi's illegal activity and allowing her to step in state affairs. The crony has been at the center of a corruption scandal that sparked massive candle-lit protest for months.
"To show that such a tragic history cannot be repeated, we must hold her accountable for her sins with severe punishment", the prosecution said.
Park, 66, was absent at Tuesday's hearing. She started boycotting hearings on October 16 last year in protest at her extended detention, arguing her legal battle has become meaningless. The court has threatened to try Park in absentia, but she has refused to budge for health and other reasons.
Park was ousted after the constitutional court upheld her impeachment on March 10 last year. She was indicted for abusing her status and power to coerce businessmen to donate money to nonprofit foundations controlled by her crony, Choi Soon-sil, in return for business favors. The ex-president denied charges of bribery, abuse of authority, coercion and leaking government secrets.
The ex-president was additionally indicted for accepting some 3.65 billion won from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) between May 2013 and July 2016. Prosecutors claimed the NIS fund was used for private purposes.
Two week s ago, Choi received a 20-year jail sentence on charges of causing a state crisis by abusing power and controlling government affairs arbitrarily for her personal interests. Choi was arrested in November 2016 and indicted for meddling in state affairs, siphoning off money from two public foundations created with cash donations from dozens of conglomerates.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
