Prosecutors request freeze on Park’s assets
Prosecutors requested a court order on Monday to freeze the assets of former President Park Geun-hye and forfeit them in case of a conviction on bribery charges involving the country’s spy agency.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said it filed for a temporary asset seizure. If the court grants it, Park will be forbidden from making transactions with her bank savings or property, including sales, transfers or putting property up for lease, it said.
On Thursday, Park was indicted on additional bribery and embezzlement charges for accepting about 3.65 billion won ($3.43 million) from the National Intelligence Service between May 2013 and July 2016. She is already standing trial on 18 different charges in connection with the corruption scandal that removed her from office last March.
Park’s assets are estimated at around 3.73 billion won as of the end of 2016, though it has likely changed given that legal procedures since the scandal broke have incurred considerable costs.
The court order can freeze her assets until the end of the trial for the bribery case involving the National Intelligence Service.
Prosecutors have obtained a similar court order over 7.8 billion won allegedly paid in kickbacks by Samsung to Choi Soon-sil, Park’s longtime friend at the center of the scandal.
Park’s assets were ruled out at the time as subject to a freeze because the prosecution determined that Choi was the prime beneficiary in the alleged crime.
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)