Friend of former S.Korea leader jailed for 20 years, Lotte chief arrested

Lotte

13/02/2018 06:57

SEOUL, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The friend of former South Korean 
leader Park Geun-hye who was at the centre of an 
influence-peddling scandal that rocked the country's business 
and political elite has been sentenced to 20 years in jail, a 
Seoul court said on Tuesday.  
    Prosecutors had demanded a 25-year jail term for Choi 
Soon-sil on charges including coercion, bribery, 
influence-peddling and abuse of authority for using her links to 
the former president for personal gain.  
    The Seoul Central District Court also ruled on Tuesday that 
Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, charged with bribery, was 
guilty and sentenced him to two years and six months in jail. 
The court ordered his immediate arrest.  
    Park was dismissed from the presidency last March after 
being impeached and is in jail. She is on trial on charges of 
bribery, abuse of power and coercion. She has denied any 
wrongdoing. 
 
 (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) 
 ((jungyoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5609; Reuters 
Messaging: jungyoon.lee.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: SOUTHKOREA POLITICS/