[ChamTrue?] Did Park Geun-hye Really Not Receive Even 10 Won?

Sentenced to 22 Years for Bribery and NIS Special Activity Fund Payments Confirmed
Prosecutors' Logic Recognizing "Collusion with Choi Soon-sil to Divide Roles and Receive Bribes"
Special Activity Funds from NIS Used for Private Residence Management and Wardrobe Maintenance Costs

Former President Park Geun-hye, who was pardoned at the end of last year, was discharged from Samsung Seoul Hospital in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 24th of last month. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporters Byungseon Gong, Daehyun Kim] Former President Park Geun-hye, who was granted a special pardon last year, moved into her private residence in Dalseong-gun, Daegu after being discharged from the hospital. As her supporters regroup in front of the residence, claims that "Former President Park endured wrongful imprisonment without receiving a single cent" are spreading. A recent article about Park on a portal site received nearly 2,000 likes on a comment stating, "The first president to go to prison without taking a single penny."

Park was the first president in constitutional history to be impeached. She was later indicted on charges including bribery, receiving special activity funds (teukhwalbi) from the National Intelligence Service (NIS), and interference in Saenuri Party nominations, and was sentenced by the Supreme Court to a total of 22 years in prison and fined 18 billion won.

Bribery refers to any benefit received as an illicit reward related to official duties. Park’s bribery charges include "bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (Special Act)" and some charges of public fund loss. The reason the special act on bribery was applied instead of general bribery charges is due to the large amount involved.

The court recognized that Park received hundreds of millions of won in donations from some large corporations through the Mir and K-Sports Foundations run by Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil). The prosecution’s argument that "Park conspired with Choi, with whom she shared an economic community, to divide roles and extort bribes" was accepted.

The Seoul High Court retrial panel stated, "The defendant conspired with Choi, with whom she maintained a long-standing private friendship, to demand donations from companies to each foundation, and Choi led the establishment and operation or requested advertising orders, financial support, and contract conclusions from companies with whom she had close ties," emphasizing, "She abused the authority and power entrusted to her as president by the people, seriously infringing on corporate property rights and management freedom."

Above all, Park was also found guilty of receiving special activity funds from the NIS. It was confirmed that from 2013 for over three years, Park received a total of 3.5 billion won in special activity funds from NIS directors.

In 2016, when the political scandal broke out, Park ordered the cessation of the regular special activity fund payments. However, former NIS Director Lee Byung-ho voluntarily provided 200 million won in special activity funds, saying "Use it for Chuseok," after hearing that Park was in financial difficulty.

Some of the special activity funds were used for private purposes such as residence management and maintaining the wardrobe. Regarding this, the retrial panel criticized, "The scale of loss to the state is considerable," adding, "Not only was the foundation of strict national budget execution shaken, but the NIS budget was not properly used for its original duty of national security, posing a risk to the safety of the state and its citizens." The Supreme Court also upheld this judgment and finalized the ruling in January last year.

"Due to the defendant’s crimes, the president was impeached, and the magnitude of suffering endured by the people and our entire society in the process is immeasurable."

This is part of the sentencing rationale written by the retrial panel. The ones truly wronged are the state and its citizens.