Former South Korean leader Park Geun-hye
was sentenced to 24 years in prison and fined almost $17
million Friday, the culmination of a stunning fall from grace for the nation’s first female president.
The
sentence, handed down at Seoul Central District Court, appeared to be
the final chapter in a corruption investigation that began in 2016. The
scandal surrounding Park and her closest confidante would ultimately
ensnare several of South Korea’s top officials and business leaders in a web of bribery and graft.
Park was
impeached by lawmakers in December 2016 following months of massive
street protests. A criminal trial was launched in May 2017, and
Park was found guilty of 16 corruption-related counts, including
bribery, coercion and abuse of power.
Prosecutors had requested a 30-year sentence.
Business leaders from powerful Korean conglomerates Samsung
and Lotte were also tried and convicted during the course of the Park’s
trial, as was her confidante, Choi Soon-sil, a longtime friend of Park
who used her tremendous influence over the president to enrich herself
and her family.
Park
did not appear at the sentencing, which was televised live, and refused
to participate in her criminal trial since October. She has one week to
appeal the verdict.
Park is the daughter of former
President Park Chung-hee, a dictator who ruled the nation for 18 years
until his assassination in 1979.
A spokesperson for
current President Moon Jae-in said in a statement that
Friday’s proceedings were “heartbreaking,” and vowed that its lessons
would be remembered.
“History that is not remembered is said to repeat itself,” the statement read. “We will not forget today.”
Park
Geun-hye is not the only former South Korean president to face criminal
charges. Her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, was arrested last month on a
raft of corruption allegations, including bribery, embezzlement and tax
evasion.
Two former presidents were convicted of bribery and treason in 1996, but were both pardoned a year later.