S. Korea prosecution demands 12-year jail term for Park

The South Korean prosecution on Thursday demanded 12 years of imprisonment for former President Park Geun-hye, who is already serving a sentence in another corruption case, over allegations of accepting bribes from the country's spy agency.

Park, 66, was sentenced to 24 years in prison in April on charges related to the influence-peddling scandal involving her friend Choi Soon-sil, which led to her ouster.

Park is facing another trial for allegedly accepting bribes from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) during her term in office, a case in which a senior presidential aide and an NIS director had also been charged, Efe news reported.

The NIS allegedly paid the presidential office around 4 billion won ($3.7 million) between 2013 and 2016 and prosecutors also demanded that Park be fined 8 billion won.

Park was summoned to the court hearing on Thursday to defend herself and clarify if she used the funds for personal use, but the former head of state refused to appear before the court.

Park has been behind bars since she was taken under preventive arrest in March 2017 for the corruption scandal, becoming the first South Korean President to be impeached, and liberal Moon Jae-in came to power in the ensuing elections.

--IANS

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