Understanding Former President Park Geun-hye’s 24 Year Prison and 18 Billion Won Fine Conviction

On April 6, former President Park Geun-hye was found guilty on 16 of 18 charges, convicted to 24 years in prison and fined 18 billion won. The guilty sentence included abuse of power, coercion, and bribery. The court ruled that she pressured Samsung, SK, and Lotte to give her 23.6 billion won in bribes and coerced 31 big companies to donate 77.4 billion won to Choi Soon-sil’s Mir-K Sport foundation. Also she was found guilty of abuse of power and coercion by intervening in the personnel affairs of Hana Bank and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and involved in making the blacklists in the cultural and entertainment field. Lastly, she was found guilty of leaking state secrets.

The court ruled not guilty on some of the charges related to the abuse of power and that she received illegal solicitation from Samsung to support the succession process in Samsung Group.