[Newsmaker] Ousted Park fights back

After former President Park Geun-hye called her corruption trial a “political retaliation,” thousands of Koreans took to the streets in central Seoul on Saturday demanding the ousted president be immediately released from jail.

“Immediately release innocent President Park Geun-hye” and “Stop murderous political revenge right now!” they chanted, vehemently waving the Korean national flag.

“President Park Geun-hye declared a political fight in prison. We should fight together to reveal the truth and (show that) justice is alive in the country,” said Cho Won-jin, a co-head of the Patriotic Party of Korea, who is on a hunger strike in protest against Park‘s extended arrest. 

On the global stage, MH Group, Park‘s international legal team, has drawn the world’s attention to Park, claiming that her human rights have been abused in jail. The group submitted a report on her human rights situation to the United Nations Human Rights Council last week.

While the public sentiments largely remain sour to the ex-president and some of those tied to the corruption scandal already convicted, President Park may be making a last-ditch effort to save herself, critics say.

The pro-Park protest came after former President Park called her corruption trial a “political retaliation” in a rare remark in the courtroom last week. It the first time she spoke up for herself since her trial began in May.

“It is meaningless to believe that the court will handle the case only in accordance with the Constitution and conscience despite political winds and public pressure,” she said, following the court’s decision to extend her detention by a further six months.

The court decided to extend the warrant holding Park in custody on Oct. 13. Park has been under custody in a solitary cell at Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, since she was arrested on March 31. She is on trial on charges of bribery and abuse of power in connection with the corruption scandal that removed her from power in March.

In protest of the extension, Park’s seven lawyers resigned en masse. The former president refused to attend her hearing on Thursday, citing health issues as the reason for her absence.

Kim Nam-geun, vice president for Lawyers for a Democratic Society, told The Korea Herald that Park’s action is a “political ploy” to rally her conservative supporters and lay the groundwork to reject the trial or any ruling unfavorable to her.

“It seems like her strategy is to dismiss it as a political trial, when the ruling is disadvantageous to her. The extension of the detention warrant was a chance for her to blame the court for having prejudice against her,”

“It seems difficult for her to evade a guilty verdict now, and I think she might know it,” he said, citing Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong who was sentenced to five years in prison in connection with the corruption scandal. Lee was accused of offering bribes to Park.

Abroad, she is receiving a backing from international legal team MH Group which claims that she was mistreated in jail. Last week, CNN reported on a document written by MH Group. It said that Park is living in a cell that is “dirty, cold and constantly lit so she cannot sleep.”

MH Group already submitted its report on her situation in prison, asking the UN and other international bodies to open an investigation into the alleged mistreatment. It demands Korean authorities free her and allow her to receive necessary medical treatment out of custody.

South Korea’s Justice Ministry flatly denied the claims of the alleged mistreatment of Park. She has been criticized for being granted special treatment by authorities due to her status as a former president. She was allowed to stay in a larger cell -- that would usually accommodate up to seven people -- which was exclusively remodeled for Park.

Rep. Roh Hoe-chan of the minor progressive Justice Party said that Park had received a “king-like” treatment in jail. During a state audit, he even put pieces of newspapers on the floor and lied on them to highlight that many other ordinary inmates are housed in small space, unlike Park.

Detention center officials did not confirm the exact size of her cell, but her solitary cell is said to be about 6.56 square meters in size. For most other inmates, six to seven people are allegedly held in a 12.01-square-meter cell.

With her lawyers having resigned, the court began selecting court-appointed lawyers for the former president. The date for a hearing for Park will likely be set to be around mid-November as the lawyers should review 100,000-pages of records.

The trial of former presidential secretaries -- An Chong-bum and Jeong Ho-seong -- will resume on Wednesday, which could be critical to Park’s fate. An is being tried for allegedly colluding with Park and her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil to abuse his power and take bribes from local firms. Jeong is on trial for allegedly leaking state secrets to Choi.

The court has delayed court proceedings for them to make a ruling simultaneously on those tied to the corruption scandal, including ex-leader Park and her friend Choi.

The continued complaints from former President Park and her avid supporters are likely to pose a burden to President Moon Jae-in, who took office through the earlier-than-scheduled election after Park was expelled from power.

Moon has been pushing to conduct reforms on many parts of society to root out irregularities and deep-rooted “evil.” His plan includes freeing the justice system, which Park and her supporters dismissed as “politicized,” from political influence.

On Saturday, a few kilometers away from the pro-Park protest, thousands of Koreans held a candlelight vigil, calling for an arrest of former President Lee Myung-bak “to root out deep-rooted evil.”

Lee, Park’s predecessor, is suspected of being involved in manipulating the 2012 presidential election to help the conservative candidate Park defeat then-progressive candidate and incumbent President Moon.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)