Former South Korean President Park has been sentenced to years in prison. The country’s Supreme Court upheld a 20-year prison sentence on corruption charges. The ruling party apologizes.

The Supreme Court of South Korea has announced the sentence six months after the conviction of former South Korean President Park Geun Hee. The judges upheld a 20-year imprisonment sentence for corruption and other crimes, as well as a fine of 18 billion won (€ 13.5 million).

According to the court, the judges rejected the prosecution’s appeal against the verdict in the resumed case against Park last July. With the current court ruling, the legal battle over the former president’s sentence is finally over.

Park was embroiled in a massive corruption scandal that led to his impeachment and arrest in 2017. He has been accused of working with a longtime confidant to raise and withdraw millions of dollars from companies in the form of bribes. The former president was also accused of allowing his friend to secretly manipulate state affairs.

Democratic Party apologizes

Park is sentenced to 22 years in prison. Apart from 20 years due to corruption, there are two more years due to violation of electoral laws, which, however, were not the subject of the present court’s decision.

Moon Je In, president-elect after Park’s impeachment, has not yet commented on a possible apology. But this demand comes from Moon’s Democratic Party. Party leader Lee Nak Yeon said that it should be a symbol of national unity. A park pardon is controversial among the population.