Former President Park Geun-hye appeared in public for the first time in 53 days on Tuesday to stand trial on charges, including bribery and abuse of power, which brought an end to her presidency in March.
Park, who has remained in detention since her arrest in late March, arrived at 9:10 a.m. at the Seoul Central District Court, wearing her own clothes, not a prison uniform, and with her signature hairstyle.
(Yonhap)
As formal proceedings for her trial begins Tuesday, her attendance in hearings is mandatory.
At the hearing which will begin at 10 a.m., she will face her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil, who is accused of colluding with Park in taking bribes and extorting donations from local firms, as well as Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin suspected of giving bribes to the two.
She denied all the charges through her lawyers at the past two preliminary hearings held earlier this month.
(Yonhap)
Park was expelled from office on March 10, with less than a year remaining in her five-year term, in a unanimous decision by the Constitutional Court to finalize her parliamentary impeachment over the corruption scandal.
Park, who was the first woman to reach the highest office in South Korea, is the third president to face trial on criminal charges, following Roh Tae-woo and Chun Doo-hwan.
(Yonhap)
By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)
