South Korea's ousted president Park Geun-Hye, grim-faced and brought to court in handcuffs, went on trial Tuesday over a sprawling corruption scandal that saw millions take to the streets and led to her downfall.
Only two months after leaving the presidential palace in disgrace, Park was brought to the Seoul Central District Court in handcuffs on a justice ministry bus, with at least six guards on board.
She wore a blue trouser suit, a badge with her prisoner number, and no make-up in court, where she avoided meeting the glance of her longtime secret confidante and co-accused Choi Soon-Sil.
The trial, expected to last for months, is the final act in the drama that engulfed Park, the daughter of a dictator who went on to be elected president herself before she was sacked by the country's top court.
Presiding judge Kim Se-Yun, who heads a three-man panel -- there is no jury -- asked her: "What is your occupation, the accused Park Geun-Hye?"
She responded: "I don't have any occupation."
Park, 65, is the third former South Korean leader to stand trial for corruption.
She was impeached by parliament in December after mass demonstrations -- that built on economic and social frustrations -- to demand her removal over a scandal centred on Choi, her friend of 40 years, and implicating some of the country's top businessmen.
She was detained soon after her dismissal -- Tuesday's court session was her first public appearance since then -- and indicted on 18 charges including bribery, coercion and abuse of power for offering governmental favours to tycoons who bribed Choi.
No comments:
Post a Comment