Sentence on ex-ROK president reduced to 20 years in prison

The sentence on former South Korean (Republic of Korea -ROK) President Park Geun-hye was reduced to 20 years in prison on Friday in a retrial of the corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of the former head of state, reported Xinhua, quoting local media.

The Seoul High Court sentenced Park to 15 years in jail for bribery and another five years for other charges with a fine of 18 billion won and a forfeit of 3.5 billion won.

It was commuted from the combined sentences of 30 years in prison with the 20 billion-won (16.6 million U.S. dollars) fine and the 2.7 billion-won forfeit, which the appellate court separately handed down in rulings in 2018 and 2019 each.

The Supreme Court sent the two cases back to the high court last year, acquitting a part of extortion and abuse of power charges.

Park was ousted from presidency in March 2017, becoming the country's first impeached leader over the corruption scandal that involved her longtime confidante, Choi Soon-sil.