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.
