Supreme Court to rule on corruption scandal involving ex-President Park and Samsung's Lee Jae-yong
- 5 years ago
In a couple of hours from now, South Korea's Supreme Court will deliver its final verdict on the corruption scandal that led to the impeachment and imprisonment of former President Park Geun-hye.
The focus will be on whether certain actions involving the ex-leader and those around her constituted bribery.
For more we go live to our Choi Si-young who is front of the Supreme Court for us.
Si-young, what's the latest?
Jiyoon, I'm standing in front of the entrance to the courtroom where the hearing starts at 2 p.m., Korea time.
Eighty-eight people, who were randomly selected days ago, will be in the courtroom to observe the proceedings.
Outside the court, some demonstrators are holding pro-Park rallies, demanding she be freed.
As you can imagine, given the high-profile nature of this case, the court has tightened security around the building and deployed police officers, security guards and parked buses.
Only employees or registered visitors and reporters are allowed to enter the court at this hour.
We don't expect former President Park Geun-hye, her confidante Choi Soon-sil or Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong to be in the courtroom today, but you never know.
Many people are wondering how the Supreme Court is going to rule. Can you tell us what the main sticky points are and the general process we can expect?
Sure, Jiyoon.
The court will rule on three corruption cases involving Park, Choi and Lee.
Currently, the appeals courts separately sentenced Park to 25 years and her confidante Choi to 20 years behind bars.
Samsung Vice Chairman Lee got his prison sentence reduced on appeal from five years to a two-and-a-half-year suspended sentence.
The Supreme Court will review two contentious issues that brought all three cases to the highest court.
First is whether the three horses Samsung gave to Choi's daughter were bribes.
Second is whether the one-point-three million U.S. dollars Samsung funneled into Choi's non-profit organization was a bribe.
If the Court rules both were bribes, Lee will face another trial and could be looking at another prison sentence.
If the Court says both were NOT bribes, Park and Choi will go for a retrial at the appeals court and would likely get their sentences reduced.
If the Court says only one of the two was a bribe, either the horses or the cash, then Park, Choi and Lee will all face a retrial at the appeals court.
That's all for now, but I'll get back to you with updates.
The focus will be on whether certain actions involving the ex-leader and those around her constituted bribery.
For more we go live to our Choi Si-young who is front of the Supreme Court for us.
Si-young, what's the latest?
Jiyoon, I'm standing in front of the entrance to the courtroom where the hearing starts at 2 p.m., Korea time.
Eighty-eight people, who were randomly selected days ago, will be in the courtroom to observe the proceedings.
Outside the court, some demonstrators are holding pro-Park rallies, demanding she be freed.
As you can imagine, given the high-profile nature of this case, the court has tightened security around the building and deployed police officers, security guards and parked buses.
Only employees or registered visitors and reporters are allowed to enter the court at this hour.
We don't expect former President Park Geun-hye, her confidante Choi Soon-sil or Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong to be in the courtroom today, but you never know.
Many people are wondering how the Supreme Court is going to rule. Can you tell us what the main sticky points are and the general process we can expect?
Sure, Jiyoon.
The court will rule on three corruption cases involving Park, Choi and Lee.
Currently, the appeals courts separately sentenced Park to 25 years and her confidante Choi to 20 years behind bars.
Samsung Vice Chairman Lee got his prison sentence reduced on appeal from five years to a two-and-a-half-year suspended sentence.
The Supreme Court will review two contentious issues that brought all three cases to the highest court.
First is whether the three horses Samsung gave to Choi's daughter were bribes.
Second is whether the one-point-three million U.S. dollars Samsung funneled into Choi's non-profit organization was a bribe.
If the Court rules both were bribes, Lee will face another trial and could be looking at another prison sentence.
If the Court says both were NOT bribes, Park and Choi will go for a retrial at the appeals court and would likely get their sentences reduced.
If the Court says only one of the two was a bribe, either the horses or the cash, then Park, Choi and Lee will all face a retrial at the appeals court.
That's all for now, but I'll get back to you with updates.