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Could Malaysia ever?
Former South Korean President, Park Geun-hye, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for accepting bribes by the South Korean High Court on Thursday (14 January). Her sentence was given for the former president’s 2018 bribery conviction thus ending a corruption scandal that has gripped the nation over years.
According to CNN, Park was initially sentenced to 24 years in prison after she was found guilty on multiple counts of abuse of power, bribery, and coercion.
Park Geun-hye in 2017 at the midst of her corruption scandal.
Park who was also South Korea’s first female president has been jailed since 31 March 2017 however she denied her wrongdoings and did not appear in court. Her sentence was reduced to 20 years in July 2020 following a retrial.
Geun-hye held the post of President of South Korea in 2013 before being ousted in 2017 following a parliamentary vote to prosecute her for a corruption scandal that led to the imprisonment of two conglomerate leaders. She was found guilty of accepting bribes amounting to tens of billions of won from major conglomerates for personal gain.
Malaysians on Twitter who came across this news related it to the case of former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who despite being found guilty has been released on bail and can even function as an MP.
One netizen even pointed out that in Malaysia, former leaders who have been found guilty are even still idolised by some and can even post freely on social media.
“Over on social media, he’s supposedly the “people’s hero” who expresses his opinions freely. But in court, his preferred answer seems to be “don’t know”.
What do you think of the justice system in these two countries? Let us know in the comments!
