South Korea's ousted former president Park Geun-hye has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty at the first court hearing over a corruption scandal that took her from the presidential Blue House to Seoul Detention Center, Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday.
Park is accused of 18 criminal counts, including bribery, abuse of power, coercion and leaking government secrets, which her lawyers have rejected in pre-trial proceedings.
A justice ministry vehicle carrying Park Geun-hye heads to the Seoul Central District Court from a detention center in Uiwang, south of Seoul, for her first hearing on May 23, 2017. /VGC Photo
The trial began at about 10:00 a.m. local time at Seoul Central District Court, to which Park arrived by a prison minivan.
Handcuffed and looking downwards, Park made her first public appearance since being taken into custody on March 31, three weeks after she stepped down following the ruling of the Constitutional Court to uphold the Parliament's decision to impeach her.
Her inmate number 503 was attached to her outfit as she made her way among a crowd of journalists and supporters, estimated at around 100 people who were asking for her immediate release.
Park Geun-hye (L) and her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil (R) attends the hearing on May 23, 2017. /VCG Photo
At the court hearing, Park and her longtime friend and confidante Choi Soon-sil, who is accused of using her connections with the president to wield undue influence or secure financial gains, reunited for the first time since the scandal surfaced last October.
Park's second hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
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