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Thursday, August 29, 2019, 17:30
S. Korea's top court sends Park, Samsung heir cases to new trials
By Associated Press
Thursday, August 29, 2019, 17:30 By Associated Press

People watch a live TV screen showing former South Korean president Park Geun-hye, left, her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil, center, and Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Aug 29, 2019. (AHN YOUNG-JOON / AP)

SEOUL — South Korea's top court on Thursday sent back jailed ex-President Park Geun-hye's corruption case to a lower court for separate trials for her previously convicted charges, a ruling that could increase her already-lengthy prison term.

The Supreme Court also ordered retrials for Park's confidante and Samsung's de facto chief, two other high-profile figures convicted in a 2016 scandal that saw millions of people rallying in the streets for months. Park, South Korea's first female president, was impeached by lawmakers in December 2016 and officially removed from office in March 2017.

The Supreme Court has ordered the Seoul High Court to deal with Park Geun-hye's bribery charge separately from other charges, a ruling that could increase Park's already-lengthy prison term

An appellate court earlier sentenced Park to 25 years in prison over bribery, extortion, abuse of power and other charges. That was an extension of a 24 year-year prison term set by a district court, which also handled Park's charges together.

But the Supreme Court ordered the Seoul High Court to deal with Park's bribery charge separately from other charges, based on a law requiring so for cases involving a president or other elected officials, even when the alleged crimes are committed together.

Local media said Park could face a lengthier prison term because courts handling a case with multiple charges typically don't impose all the maximum sentences for each charge.

ALSO READ: Jailed ex-S. Korean president requests temporary release

Park will remain in jail because the court did not overturn all her convictions but only the charges that it believed required a separate trial. And even in sending back the bribery charges to the lower court, the Supreme Court wasn't sending the case back with instructions to consider that she might be innocent.

Park, 67, has called herself a victim of political revenge. She has refused to attend her trials since October 2017 and didn't attend Thursday's court session.

Park was convicted of colluding with a longtime confidante, Cho Soon-sil, to take millions of dollars in bribes and extortion from businesses, including Samsung, while she was in office from 2013 to 2016. The two women were also convicted of taking bribes from some of those companies, including more than 7 billion won (US$6.5 million) alone from Samsung.

Park was also earlier convicted of colluding with senior government officials to blacklist artists critical of her government to deny them state assistance programs. Park was also convicted of passing on presidential documents with sensitive information to Choi via one of her presidential aides.

South Korean Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Kim Myeong-su, top center, sits with other justices upon their arrival at the Supreme Court in Seoul, South Korea, Aug 29, 2019. (PHOTO / YONHAP VIA AP)

The scandal led to the arrests, indictments and convictions of dozens of high-level government officials and business leaders. Choi received a 20-year prison term and Lee Jae-yong, Samsung's billionaire heir and the vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics, a suspended prison term.

The Supreme Court ordered the Seoul High Court to start new trials for both Choi and Lee. Observers said Choi could get an increased prison term and Lee a prison sentence at new Seoul High Court trials.

In 2017, Lee, the only son of Samsung's ailing chairman Lee Kun-hee, was sentenced to five years in prison for providing bribes to Park and Choi in return for government backing for his attempt to bolster his control over the Samsung group and other charges. But in early 2018, he was set free after the Seoul High Court overturned some of his convictions and suspended his sentence. His earlier imprisonment surprised many because South Korean courts had often showed leniency toward crimes by business tycoons.

Lee In-jae, who heads the legal team representing Lee Jae-yong, called the Supreme Court's decision "regrettable." He said it should be noted that some justices of the court expressed dissenting opinions about the bribery charges surrounding Lee Jae-yong.

Samsung Electronics released a statement saying it regrets "causing concern to (Korean) people" over the corruption case and that it wouldn't repeat past mistakes. The statement did not include specific comments on Thursday's decision.

Calls to Park's lawyer weren't immediately answered. Park didn't appeal her two previous prison sentences, and Thursday's court session was arranged after prosecutors appealed the initial verdicts in search of increased prison terms.

ALSO READ: S.Korean court hands ex-leader Park 8 more years in jail

A supporter of former South Korean president Park Geun-hye shouts a slogan as others hold banners with pictures of Park during a rally near the Supreme Court of Korea in Seoul, South Korea, Aug 29, 2019. (LE JIN-MAN / AP)

Park, a daughter of late President Park Chung-hee, was once the darling of conservatives in South Korea and dubbed by local media as the "queen of elections" for her ability to win tight elections. Her fall badly damaged conservatives in South Korea and helped her main liberal rival and current President Moon Jae-in win an easy victory in a by-election triggered by her early departure.

Park still has fierce supporters who stage rallies in downtown Seoul every Saturday calling for her release. On Thursday, more than a thousand of Park's supporters rallied outside the Supreme Court building, waving South Korean and US flags and her photos and holding placards that read "Set free President Park Geun-hye who is innocent!"

She was elected president in late 2012, largely thanks to a wave of support from conservatives who remember her father as a charismatic leader who led South Korea's explosive economic growth. Liberals see her father as a ruthless leader who severely suppressed civil rights during his 1961-79 rule.

Park Geun-hye has been embroiled in two smaller scandals which led her to be sentenced to two years in prison for violating an election law and five years for abusing state funds. That meant she has faced the prospect of serving more than 30 years in prison.

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