Patrick Frater reports: Park Geun-hye, the former president of South Korea, has been arrested. She was taken into custody early on Friday morning local time after lengthy presentations to a court by prosecutors.

Park was removed from office in December by lawmakers. A court upheld her impeachment last month, removing her presidential immunity from prosecution. She is to be charged with crimes including bribery, abuse of power and coercion. She denies the charges. The court ruled that Park represents a flight risk and said that she should be detained.

Many of the charges relate to Park’s relationship with Choi Soon-sil, a friend and close confidante who is accused of using her connections and knowledge to extort vast sums of money from businesses in Korea. Those accused of paying bribes to foundations controlled by Choi include Lee Jae-yong, the de facto boss of electronics giant. Lee is also currently under arrest and denies the charges.

Other charges against Park relate to the compiling of a blacklist of some 9,000 cultural industry figures who did not support Park’s politics. … (more)

Source: Variety