On Monday, prosecutors in South Korea announced that they have indicted former President Park Geun-hye on corruption and abuse of power charges that could send her to jail for life. Park, 65, was impeached in December, formally removed from office March 10, and arrested on March 30 amid a national scandal that has also swept up Park's longtime friend and confidante Choi Soon-Sil, government officials, and several top business executives, including Samsung heir apparent Lee Jae-yong and, on Monday, Shin Dong-bin, the chairman of South Korea's fifth-largest business conglomerate, Lotte Group.
Park has been housed in a detention center since her arrest, and during her expected six-month trial, South Koreans will see her stand trial in handcuffs and bound with rope, possibly in prison uniform, The Associated Press reports. A majority of South Koreans approved of her removal from office, but some of her conservative supporters are urging authorities to pardon Park, should she be convicted. South Korea will vote for her successor on May 9.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
New Year's Eve: UK events and celebrationsThe Week Recommends Start 2025 with a bang by watching the best fireworks and extravaganzas around the country
-
Five festive cocktails for Christmas 2024The Week Recommends Serve seasonal cocktails for an extra special gathering
-
Octopuses could be the next big species after humansUNDER THE RADAR What has eight arms, a beaked mouth, and is poised to take over the planet when we're all gone?
-
Putin says Russia isn't weakened by Syria setbackSpeed Read Russia had been one of the key backers of Syria's ousted Assad regime
-
Georgia DA Fani Willis removed from Trump caseSpeed Read Willis had been prosecuting the election interference case against the president-elect
-
Democrats blame 'President Musk' for looming shutdownSpeed Read The House of Representatives rejected a spending package that would've funding the government into 2025
-
Trump, Musk sink spending bill, teeing up shutdownSpeed Read House Republicans abandoned the bill at the behest of the two men
-
Congress reaches spending deal to avert shutdownSpeed Read The bill would fund the government through March 14, 2025
-
Luigi Mangione charged with murder, terrorismSpeed Read Magnione is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
-
Ex-FBI informant pleads guilty to lying about BidensSpeed Read Alexander Smirnov claimed that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter were involved in a bribery scheme with Ukrainian energy company Burisma
-
South Korea impeaches president, eyes chargesSpeed Read Yoon Suk Yeol faces investigations on potential insurrection and abuse of power charges
