Park Geun-hye to be detained another six months

World
Europe

A South Korean court issued an additional warrant on Friday to extend the detention of former President Park Geun-hye, who is on trial for charges including bribery, abuse of state power and leaking state secrets, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Park will be detained for another six months as her previous arrest warrant is set to expire next Monday. Under local law, a criminal suspect can be detained as long as six months with a detention warrant.

Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye (C) gets into a car to leave her private residence for a court hearing in Seoul, March 30, 2017. /Xinhua Photo

Park was taken into custody in late March after the constitutional court approved her impeachment over a corruption scandal embroiling Park and her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil.

Park was charged on April 17, becoming the third former president facing prosecution in South Korea after Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo.

The new arrest warrant has cited bribery charges involving South Korean conglomerates Lotte and SK, which were not included in the first arrest warrant, The Korea Times reported. It is believed that the former president could be sentenced by the end of the year, the report said.

Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, March 30, 2017. /Xinhua Photo

The court was quoted by local media outlets as saying the extended detention can be justified and is necessary due to "worry about the destruction of evidences".

Prosecutors have defended the ruling, saying that if Park stands trial without detention, she would not appear in the court hearings, probably citing health problems or preparations for pleading. Park failed to attend the court hearings several times, citing health problems such as a toe pain.

Park's attorneys also asked for numerous witnesses to appear in the court, triggering criticism that she attempted to intentionally delay the hearings for the purpose of standing trial without detention.

Some relatives of those dead or missing in the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014 protest against former South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Seoul, October 13, 2017. /CCTV Photo

On Friday, some relatives of those dead or missing in the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014 held a protest in Seoul, condemning the Park administration for falsifying documents after the sinking of the vessel, an incident in which 304 people were killed. The protestors demanded an extension of Park's detention, a thorough investigation into the disaster and punishment of officials who failed to carry out effective rescue work.

953km