S.Korean prosecutors demand 30-year imprisonment for ousted President Park

SEOUL - South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday demanded a 30-year imprisonment for ousted President Park Geun-hye, according to local media reports.

Prosecutors said that Park privatized her presidential power, mandated by people, and damaged constitutional value, demanding Park be fined 118.5 billion won (110.5 million US dollars).

Park, 66, was removed from office in March last year as the constitutional court upheld her impeachment, which the National Assembly already supported.

The ousted president was taken into custody in the same month, and was indicted on 18 counts of corruption.

The prosecution's sentencing request for Park was heavier than its earlier demand for Choi Soon-sil, a decades-long friend of Park who was at the center of the corruption scandal that led to Park's impeachment.

Choi was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the first trial, which was wrapped up earlier this month. The prosecution office had demanded a 25-year jail term on Choi.

Prosecutors said Park, as the culprit of the influence-peddling scandal, needed to be heavily punished. Thirty years is the highest jail term by South Korea's criminal law.

Park was charged with allowing Choi, who had no government position, to abuse presidential power and intervene in government affairs from the shadows.