Park Geun-hye

Park Geun-hye, who served as President of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, was embroiled in a series of major scandals involving corruption, influence peddling, and abuse of power. The most significant event was the 2016 political scandal that led to her impeachment and removal from office. On December 9, 2016, the South Korean National Assembly impeached her on charges related to influence peddling by her close aide, Choi Soon-sil, who was accused of exerting undue influence over government affairs and soliciting bribes from conglomerates, including Samsung (Wikipedia, Wikipedia). The Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment on March 10, 2017, making her the first South Korean president to be removed from office through this process (Wikipedia). Following her impeachment, Park faced numerous criminal charges. On April 6, 2018, she was sentenced to 24 years in prison for corruption and abuse of power, which was later increased to 25 years after an appeal (Wikipedia). The charges included coercion, bribery, and leaking government secrets, with prosecutors seeking a fine of ₩188.5 billion (~US$110.6 million) (Wikipedia). In June 2018, her sentence was increased further to 25 years, and she was convicted of money laundering and illegal favors related to her ties with the National Intelligence Service (NIS) directors who illegally funneled funds for her private use (Wikipedia). In July 2020, her sentence was reduced to 20 years after a retrial, with the court noting she received little personal benefit from her actions, and she was cleared of charges of extortion from conglomerates (Wikipedia). She was ultimately pardoned on compassionate grounds by President Moon Jae-in on December 24, 2021, and released from prison on December 31, 2021, returning home in March 2022 (Wikipedia). Throughout her legal proceedings, she was also investigated for collusion with her aide Choi Soon-sil, who was convicted of abuse of power, bribery, and interference in government affairs, receiving a 20-year prison sentence (Wikipedia, Yonhap). Overall, Park Geun-hye's career was marred by allegations of corruption, influence peddling, and abuse of power, culminating in her impeachment, criminal convictions, and eventual pardon.