South Korean supporters of arrested ex-president to protest

The former leader was grilled for almost nine hours in court today as a judge deliberated whether she should be arrested.

She gave about eight hours of testimony at Seoul Central District Court on Thursday and was being held at the prosecutors’ office next door while the judge studied evidence and arguments to rule on whether to an issue an arrest warrant.

Park has been swimming in troubled waters since it was revealed that her confidante and adviser, Choi Soon-sil, had access to confidential government documents despite holding no official government position.

Chung Kwang-taek, a protester, said that Park’s opponents “ruthlessly attacked a lonely woman who dedicated herself to the country” and that she would overcome her troubles to “live forever as a historical figure”.

Park had been held in a temporary detention facility at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office Building ahead of the court’s decision. Lee is now in detention and faces what one prosecutor describes as the “trial of the century” for providing US$36 million to a secret associate of Park’s in exchange for the approval of a large-scale merger.

Since her impeachment, Park had been living in her private residence in the upscale Samseong-dong neighborhood of Seoul.

Two former South Korean presidents, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, were sentenced to life and 17 years in prison, respectively, in 1996, on charges including treason and bribery. Both deny the charges.

She faces 13 charges in the scandal, including bribery, abuse of power, extortion and sharing state secrets with an unauthorized person, which is the largest number of charges faced by a former president.

The arrest warrant for Park, which was sought by prosecutors earlier this week, was issued by the court, following the Thursday hearing that had lasted for almost nine hours, the longest-ever in the country’s history.

She is the third former president of South Korea to be arrested over criminal charges, Yonhap reports. South Korea’s first female president was ousted from power on March 10 2017 after an investigation relating to allegations of high-level corruption was opened against her.

Democratic Party of Korea candidate Moon Jae-in is expected to win the upcoming May 9 presidential elections.

Prosecutors believe Park conspired with Choi and a top presidential adviser to bully 16 business groups, including Samsung, to donate millions for the launch of two non-profit groups that Choi controlled.

Park’s conservative party described her arrest as “pitiful”.

Ms Park’s removal from office capped months of paralysis and turmoil over the corruption scandal that also landed the head of the Samsung conglomerate in detention and on trial. But, following a meteoric political career, she returned after winning the presidency in December 2012, thanks to overwhelming support from older voters who remembered her father as a hero who rescued the nation from poverty, despite his brutal record of civilian oppression.