Timeline of South Korea's influence-peddling scandal ahead of Supreme Court ruling

Record ID: 1428771

  • Title: Timeline of South Korea's influence-peddling scandal ahead of Supreme Court ruling
  • Date: 27th August 2019
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (FILE - 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** EXTERIOR OF HYUNDAI AND KIA MOTORS LOGO OF HYUNDAI MOTOR ON TOP OF BUILDING Park faced mounting pressure to step down as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Seoul every Saturday to demand her resignation, the biggest public demonstrations in South Korea since the 1980s. SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (FILE - NOVEMBER 12, 2016) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS GATHERED FOR RALLY PROTESTERS HOLDING CANDLES AND WAVING FLAGS THE BLUE HOUSE, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENTIAL RESIDENCE PROTESTERS MAKING MEXICAN WAVE WITH CANDLES Heads of South Korea's top conglomerates including Samsung's Lee and the Chairman of Hyundai Motor, Chung Mong-koo, testified at parliament hearing on Dec. 6 on whether Park and her friend Choi pressured them to give money to non-profit foundations for preferential treatment. Lee said Samsung Group did not give financial support to foundations in order to get something in return. SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (FILE - DECEMBER 6, 2016) (REUTERS) SOUTH KOREAN CHAIRMAN OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY'S SPECIAL COMMITTEE, KIM SUNG-TAE (FAR LEFT), HITTING GAVEL CHAIRMAN OF CJ GROUP, SOHN KYUNG-SHIK (FAR LEFT), CHAIRMAN OF LG GROUP, KOO BON-MOO (SECOND FROM LEFT), CHAIRMAN OF HANHWA, KIM SEUNG-YEON (THIRD FROM LEFT), CHAIRMAN OF SK GROUP, CHEY TAE-WON (FOURTH FROM LEFT), SAMSUNG GROUP HEIR APPARENT AND VICE CHAIRMAN OF SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS, JAY Y. LEE (THIRD FROM RIGHT), CHAIRMAN AND SECOND SON OF LOTTE GROUP, SHIN DONG-BIN (SECOND FROM RIGHT), CHAIRMAN OF HANJIN GROUP, CHO YANG-HO (FAR RIGHT), SITTING LEE SITTING CHEY (LEFT), LEE (CENTRE), AND SHIN (RIGHT), SITTING On December 9, lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to impeach embattled Park over the scandal, setting the stage for her to become the country's first elected leader to be pushed from office in disgrace. Members of parliament voted by secret ballot with 234 in favour and 56 opposed, meaning dozens of members of Park's own conservative Saenuri Party backed the motion to remove her. At least 200 members of the 300-seat chamber was needed to vote for the motion for it to pass. Outside parliament, a large crowd of demonstrators who had gathered to await the outcome, cheered at the news the motion had passed. SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (FILE - DECEMBER 9, 2016) (REUTERS) SOUTH KOREAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SPEAKER, CHUNG SYE-KYUN (CENTRE), PARLIAMENT OFFICIALS, AND LAWMAKERS SITTING VARIOUS OF LAWMAKERS PUTTING BALLOT PAPER INTO BALLOT BOX SOUTH KOREAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SPEAKER, CHUNG SYE-KYUN, SAYING (Korean): "I announce that the impeachment bill of President Park Geun-hye has passed." PROTESTERS CHEERING AS IMPEACHMENT VOTE RESULT IS ANNOUNCED PROTESTER CHANTING PROTESTERS CHEERING WHILE WATCHING SCREEN SHOWING IMPEACHMENT VOTE RESULT A few hours after the impeachment vote, South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, took over as acting president. Park met her ministers and asked them to work with the prime minister to avoid any vacuum in national security matters and the economy. Park added she would prepare for a court review of the impeachment motion. Hwang held an emergency cabinet meeting and said he would do his best to ensure a stable government continued to function. SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (FILE - DECEMBER 9, 2016) (REUTERS) SOUTH KOREAN PRIME MINISTER AND ACTING PRESIDENT, HWANG KYO-AHN, AND OFFICIALS AT MEETING HWANG SPEAKING AS SOUTH KOREAN OFFICIALS SEATED SOUTH KOREAN MINISTERS AND OFFICIALS LISTENING
  • Embargoed: 10th September 2019 08:06
  • Keywords: president impeachment Samsung timeline trial Choi Soon-sil political scandal Park South Korea Jay Y. Lee Park Geun-hye Supreme Court
  • Location: SEOUL, INCHEON, UIWANG, SOUTH KOREA/ AALBORG, DENMARK/ HAGEN, GERMANY
  • City: SEOUL, INCHEON, UIWANG, SOUTH KOREA/ AALBORG, DENMARK/ HAGEN, GERMANY
  • Country: South Korea
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
  • Reuters ID: LVA007AU0XZYF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: South Korea's Supreme Court is set to deliver a ruling on the bribery conviction of Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee in a corruption scandal on Thursday (August 29) that led to the ouster of the country's then-president in 2017.
    The ruling will be a test of South Korea's pledge to reform dominant conglomerates criticised for cozy relationship with political leaders, at a time when the Asia's fourth-biggest economy is facing a series of headwinds.
    The 51-year-old Lee was convicted of bribing Choi Soon-sil, a close friend of former President Park Geun-hye.
    Prosecutors have alleged that he paid bribes to help secure control of Samsung Group, South Korea's top conglomerate that owns Samsung Electronics, the world's leading smartphone and chip maker. He denied the charges.
    He received a five-year jail term in 2017, but was released in 2018 after an appeals court reduced his punishment to a suspended prison sentence on charges of bribery, embezzlement and other convictions.
    Both Lee and state prosecutors appealed to the Supreme Court, leaving the top court with the options of either upholding the appeals court's ruling or asking it to reconsider its judgement, legal experts say. Samsung declined to comment.
    The Supreme Court is also set to rule on appeals court decisions in the cases against Park and Choi.
    Park, who was impeached following the scandal, received a jail sentence of 25 years, while Choi was jailed for 20 years. They were both fined of 20 billion won ($16.53 million).
    (Production: Daewoung Kim, Hyunyoung Yi)
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