Court approves warrant of arrest for ex-president Park of South Korea

A ruling by a Seoul Central District Court has given approval for a warrant arrest for disgraced and ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye who was axed from office earlier this month over corruption allegations.

The court ruling came after the 65-year-old Park faced nearly nine hours of questioning over a number of charges, including bribery and abuse of presidential power.

Park was held at a prosecutors’ office next door while a judge at the court studied the evidence and arguments to decide on whether to issue the arrest warrant.

“The cause and the need for the warrant are recognised as the main charges against her have been verified and as evidence could be destroyed,” the judge said later in a statement.

Read also: SOUTH KOREA: Court deliberates ex-president Park’s arrest

When she arrived the court premises at about 10:20 a.m. (0120 GMT) to plead her case, she begged not to be arrested while prosecutors investigated the scandal that has ensnared South Korea’s political and business elite.

Choi Soon-Sil, Park’s secret confidante at the heart of the scandal, is already on trial for forcing top local firms to “donate” nearly $70 million to non-profit foundations she allegedly used for personal gain.

Park who is the first leader to be ousted from office accepted responsibility for the events that culminated in the Constitutional Court upholding a parliamentary impeachment vote over an influence-peddling scandal that has shaken the political and business elite in South Korea.

 

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