Seoul | The South Korean prosecution announced on Tuesday the seizure of the home of ex-President Park Geun-hye which will be auctioned in order to pay the fines she received when she was convicted of corruption.
The first woman elected president of South Korea, Ms. Park was impeached in a resounding corruption scandal that earned her a 20-year prison sentence.
Ms Park did not pay fines of 21.5 billion won (€ 16 million) due at the end of February and authorities seized her house, a representative of the prosecutor’s office told AFP of Seoul Central District. They asked for it to be auctioned off.
Located in an upscale neighborhood in south Seoul, the two-story house was valued at 2.8 billion won when the court froze the former president’s property, media reported.
Ms. Park also received a two-year prison sentence for violating election laws. If she serves her full sentence, she will be over 80 by the time of her release.
This corruption scandal had exposed the troubled connections between the political world and the large conglomerates which dominate the South Korean economy.
She and her shadow adviser Choi Soon-sil had been accused of receiving bribes from big companies, including Samsung Electronics, in exchange for favors.
Ms Park’s successor, Moon Jae-in (center-left) has been brought to power due to outrage over the scandal.
South Korea is known for the harshness of its justice against former heads of state. So much so that the four ex-South Korean presidents still alive were all sentenced after the end of their mandate.
Former head of state Roh Moo-hyun committed suicide in 2009 after being questioned on suspicion of corruption involving his family.
