PRISON TERM FOR EX-PRESIDENT

[Anchor Lead]

The Supreme Court upheld the 20-year prison sentence for ex-President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached four years ago for abuse of power, corruption and bribery. The latest Supreme Court ruling marks the end of criminal trials for the former president.

[Pkg]

[Soundbite] LEE JUNG-MI(ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL(2017)) : "Decision, defendant Park Geun-hye is dismissed."

The abuse of power, corruption and bribery scandal in 2017 led to the first-ever presidential impeachment in modern Korean history. Ex-President Park Geun-hye went on trial in April of that year. In the following year, she was indicted for additional charges of taking bribes from the National Intelligence Service and meddling with the candidate nominations of the then-governing Saenuri Party. In relations to the abuse of power and corruption, the Korean Supreme Court upheld the original 20-year prison sentence, 18 billion won in fine, and 3.5 billion won in additional collection. The former president was sentenced to 30 years in prison in two previous trials, but the country’s top court sent the case back to the lower court, arguing that she should be found innocent of some charges, citing errors in the lower court’s ruling. In the remanded trial that took place in July of last year, her sentence was reduced to 20 years in prison. The Supreme Court’s decision marks the end of criminal trials for Park. Her sentence is increased to 22 years in total, as she was imposed with a two-year prison term in the second trial for nomination interference in 2018. She will be released in 2039 if she completes her jail term. The special prosecutor team said they respect the ruling which found all bribe recipients guilty. The prosecution also stressed that a rightful decision should be made in the remanded trial of Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong accused of providing bribes to the ex-president. Meanwhile, Park’s supporters protested that the ruling was invalid.

[Soundbite] CHO WON-JIN(PRESIDENT, OUR REPUBLICAN PARTY) : "The Supreme Court tore down the rule of law itself."

Park, who has consistently claimed her innocence and refused to attend her trials in person, didn’t show up for this trial either.