April 27, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Former President Park Geun-hye fought hard to avoid the shame of being taken into custody during a court hearing on her arrest warrant on March 30. Whether she was successful was not known as of press time, as the judge continued deliberations into early morning on March 31.

Ejected from office on March 10 and now facing criminal charges including bribery and abuse of power, the former president arrived at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul at around 10:20 a.m.  

Escorted by security guards, Park arrived in a black sedan, and did not answer any questions from the roughly 100 reporters there as she walked into the courthouse. The hearing had a short recess for an hour and resumed at 2:07 p.m.

The prosecution asked the court to issue the writ to arrest Park on April 3 on a total of 13 charges, citing the gravity of her charges, the possibility of her destroying evidence and the precedent that other key figures tied to the scandal had already been arrested. It turned in 120,000 pages of investigation records as supporting documents.

Park’s jailed confidante Choi Soon-sil, who is at the center of the corruption scandal, is already on trial for coercing donations from local firms. Former presidential aides, ex-ministers and Samsung Group’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong have also been arrested and are standing trial.

If the court approves the arrest, Park will be transferred to the detention center in southern Seoul, where her friend Choi and others are being held. The prosecution can detain her for up to 20 days until it indicts her.

As Park got out of her residence in southern Seoul at around 10:10 a.m., hundreds of her loyal supporters greeted her, waving national flags. Some 30 supporters lied down on the pavement, shouting “We will have to save our president even if we die.”

Earlier in the morning, Park’s brother Park Ji-man and his wife paid a visit to see her. Seven pro-Park lawmakers including Reps. Choi Kyoung-hwan and Cho Won-jin of Liberty Korea Party waited for her outside.

She allegedly told the lawmakers, “I am sorry because of me. Why did you come … you must be busy.”

On March 22, some 82 lawmakers, mostly from the LPK, signed a petition calling for a rejection of the arrest warrant. They said that there was no possibility of Park destroying evidence and no need for the arrest as she is effectively detained in her residence.

Park is suspected of extorting donations worth 77.4 billion won ($69.6 million) from local firms including Samsung Group for the Mir and K-Sports foundations controlled by Choi in return for political favors.

An independent counsel team, which ended its 70-day probe into the scandal on Feb. 28, suspected that part of Samsung’s donations had been bribes made in return for political favors.

Samsung is accused of providing or promising funds totaling 43.3 billion won to Park’s friend Choi and her business interests in exchange for the Park administration’s backing of a 2014 merger of its two affiliates. The merger was a crucial step for the smooth transfer of power from the ailing group Chairman Lee Kun-hee to his only son Lee Jae-yong.

If convicted of bribery, which carries the heaviest punishment among all charges facing Park, she can be sentenced to life imprisonment or a term of more than 10 years.

Park’s other charges include allowing Choi to meddle in state affairs, leaking government secrets to her and discriminating against liberal-leaning artists.

Park has denied all the charges. She said local firms voluntarily donated the money and claimed no knowledge of any illegal activities by Choi and her inner circle.

Park was expelled from office on March 10, with less than a year remaining in her five-year term, in a unanimous decision by the Constitutional Court to finalize the Dec. 9 parliamentary impeachment.

The ruling stripped her of the immunity that had shielded her from criminal investigation.

By Ock Hyun-ju/The Korea Herald (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)