Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye has been found guilty of bribery, abuse of power, and coercion. She was sentenced to 24 years in prison, though prosecutors initially requested 30 years.
The former leader previously denied any wrongdoing, and the sentence was announced in her absence. The first female South Korean president was boycotting the hearing in protest of the court’s October decision to extend her incarceration by six months, Yonhap reports.
Park was accused of colluding with her friend Choi Soon-sil, who had been already sentenced to 20 years, in taking tens of millions of dollars from conglomerates.
The high-profile graft scandal led to the president’s impeachment in December 2016, and triggered massive protests across South Korea both supporting and condemning Park.
