SOUTH KOREA: Ex-president Park Geun-hye faces 30-year sentence

South Korean prosecutors are seeking a 30-year jail term for ex-president Park Geun-hye in a corruption case which led to her impeachment, the Yonhap news agency reports. Park, 66, was dismissed in March and is standing trial on charges of bribery, abuse of power and coercion in a case that has rocked the country’s business […]

South Korean prosecutors are seeking a 30-year jail term for ex-president Park Geun-hye in a corruption case which led to her impeachment, the Yonhap news agency reports.

Park, 66, was dismissed in March and is standing trial on charges of bribery, abuse of power and coercion in a case that has rocked the country’s business and political elite. She denies wrongdoing.

The prosecution’s recommendation came two weeks after Choi Soon-sil, a longtime friend of Park who was at the centre of the scandal, was jailed for 20 years for taking bribes from “chaebol”, or conglomerates, including electronics powerhouse Samsung and retail giant Lotte.

Prosecutors are also seeking a 118.5bn won ($127.1m) fine for Park, who has been detained since March 31 last year.