Former president Park Geun-hye has been sentenced to 24 years in prison and a fine of 18 billion won (US$16.8 million). This is the punishment that the law hands down to a woman* who described her trial as "political retribution passing as the rule of law." While this is effectively a life sentence for Park, given her age of 66 years, it cannot be described as harsh given the severity of the crimes that she committed.

Trials are still pending for charges that she took bribes from the National Intelligence Service's special activity [!] fund and that she violated election law. It is likely that her sentence will become even heavier. She obviously brought all this upon herself, not only through the influence peddling itself but also through her consistently haughty demeanor and her defiance of the will of the people through her attempts to game the justice system. This sentence brings to a close the initial trial of her influence peddling, showing that the history of Korean democracy has been elevated to the next level through the power of 14 million protesters at the candlelit rallies....

South Korean President Park Geun-hye has called for a constitutional amendment to permit two terms for the country's president. Currently, the president can hold office for only a single five-year term.
[...]
"The single five-year presidency makes it difficult for the government to pursue consistent and sustainable policy goals," she said.

One of the goals might include pressing North Korea on its nuclear weapons program. Park also said that changes in policy have made it difficult for South Korean economic leaders to carry out long-term plans. She said the current single term system has served its purpose....

* Time'sUp story developing ....


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