Corruption verdict on S Korea's Park to be televised live

2018-04-03 05:30
Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye. (Ahn Young-joon, AP)

Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye. (Ahn Young-joon, AP)

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Seoul - The corruption verdict and sentencing of South Korea's former president Park Geun-hye will be televised live, Yonhap said on Tuesday, in a case that could see her jailed for 30 years.

The 66-year-old Park, daughter of a former dictator, was ousted from power in March 2017 following months of street protests.

She has been in police custody for almost a year over a wide-ranging corruption scandal, which exposed shady links between big business and politics.

The Seoul Central District Court said it would allow the verdict and sentencing of Park, set for Friday afternoon, to be broadcast live on television due to high public interest, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Prosecutors have demanded a 30-year-jail sentence and a $110m fine for Park, saying she must take responsibility for the scandal as the former president.

Park is accused of colluding with her secret confidante and long-time friend Choi Soon-sil, who has been convicted and jailed, for taking tens of millions of dollars from conglomerates in return for policy favours.

It is unclear whether Park will attend court on Friday as she has boycotted her hearings since the court extended her detention last October.