SEOUL • A South Korean appeals court yesterday extended former president Park Geun-hye's prison sentence for corruption and abuse of power by one year.
The decision by the Seoul High Court means that the former head of state, who was ousted after a sprawling graft scandal triggered mass protests, faces 25 years in jail in the case.
Park, 66, was convicted in April of receiving or demanding more than US$20 million (S$27 million) from conglomerates, sharing secret state documents, "blacklisting" artists critical of her policies and firing officials who resisted her abuses of power.
Her 10-month trial highlighted shady links between big businesses and politics in South Korea, with Park and her close friend Choi Soon-sil accused of taking bribes from corporate bigwigs in exchange for preferential treatment.
At the time, she was given a 24-year sentence but the prosecution appealed, seeking a 30-year term.
The Seoul High Court said yesterday that Park collaborated with Choi to demand money and other business favours from companies and browbeat them into hiring Choi's friends.
Park had seriously abused the powers bestowed on her by the people as president, it said.
"Such unethical dealings between political power and economic power ruin the fundamentals of our democracy and distort the order of the market economy, leaving South Koreans with a deep sense of loss and sowing the seeds of deep distrust in our society," the court added.
It upheld the original verdict, this time sentencing Park to 25 years in prison and a fine of 20 billion won (S$24.5 million).
Park, who did not appeal against her conviction, has been boycotting the court, accusing the judicial process of being politically motivated, and was not present to hear the ruling.
Outside the court building yesterday, a few small groups of her supporters held protests.
Park has also been given eight more years in jail for a separate conviction on charges that include illegally receiving funds from the country's spy agency.
The penalties apply consecutively.
In a separate ruling, the court upheld Choi's conviction but left her prison sentence unchanged at 20 years.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
