Former President Park Geun-hye sentenced to 24 years in prison

In a televised trial, the Seoul Central District Court today found Ms. Park guilty of 16 counts of corruption, including bribery, coercion, and abuse of power, according toYonhapShe was sentenced to 24 years in prison and fined 18 billion won ($16.9 million).

She was identified.colluded with her old friend Choi Soon-sil to receive tens of millions of dollars from large corporations such as Samsung and Lotte, to help Choi's family and fund nonprofit foundations owned by Choi.

Ms. Park, 66, has denied wrongdoing and was not present in court. She boycotted the hearings to protest the court’s decision in October 2017 to extend her detention by six months. She plans to appeal.

This was the first lower court trial to be televised live due to the huge public interest in the case. The event was televised despite former President Park's objections.

Prosecutors had previously requested a 30-year prison sentence and a $112 million fine for Park on charges of bribery, abuse of power and coercion.

South Korea's first female president took office in early 2013. The scandal led to the National Assembly voting to impeach Ms. Park in December 2016. She was dismissed by the Constitutional Court on March 10, 2017./.