It's known here simply as the Choi Soon-sil scandal, or Choi Soon-sil-gate and now we know Choi's fate. Choi is the friend of former president Park Geun-hye at the center of a massive corruption scandal, which eventually led to the impeachment of Park. A South Korean trial court sentenced Choi Soon-sil to 20 years in prison on various charges including corruption on Tuesday. The court saying there was sufficient evidence showing Choi used her connections to coerce and receive bribes from major corporations like Samsung. Specifically, money sent to non-profit organizations set up as sports foundations were forced upon as opposed to voluntary. The court believes Park abused her power and authority.

The fact that Choi was the head representative of these foundations is evidence that Choi was an accomplice of Park. Meanwhile, the court also handed down a guilty verdict to the chairman of Lotte Group. They found Lotte to be involved in illicit solicitations for duty free shop bids. Prosecutors had initially requested a 25-year jail term for Choi. All eyes will now be on the last major player in this scandal, former President Park Geun-hye. Her trial is set to wrap up very soon as well; we're coming up on almost a year since the courts approved Park's impeachment motion. And maybe we're closer to the end of this tumultuous chapter in South Korean history.