Jailed former President Park Geun-hye was allowed out Thursday for a hospital visit to treat her back pain, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday.
She left the Seoul Detention Center in the early morning and headed for a hospital in the southern district of Gangnam, according to the sources. She apparently took tests such as an MRI scan.
(Yonhap)
Park has been detained since March on a string of charges including bribery and abuse of power in connection with a massive corruption scandal that removed her from office.
But she has been refusing to appear at trial in protest of a court's decision in October to extend her arrest warrant for another six months. The new warrant will keep her locked up until April 16, 2018.
She has visited the hospital a few times since she was jailed, as she complains about the worsening of her chronic illnesses including back pain and a toe injury she received in the prison.