SEOUL: A South Korean court on Friday sentenced a longtime friend of ousted President Park Geun-hye to three years in prison for using her presidential ties to unlawfully get her daughter into a prestigious Seoul university.

The Seoul Central District Court said Choi Soon-sil “committed so many illegal activities” as she pressured Ewha Womans University to grant admission and then provide academic favours to her daughter despite Chung Yoo-ra’s questionable qualifications.

Choi, Park’s friend of 40 years, is being tried separately over more serious charges, including allegations that she colluded with Park to take tens of millions of dollars from the country’s largest companies in bribes and through extortion.

Following months of massive protests by millions and impeachment by lawmakers in December, Park was formally removed from office and arrested over the corruption scandal in March. She was indicted in April on bribery and other charges.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2017