Ex-President Park decides against appealing 24-year prison term

SEOUL. KAZINFORM - Former President Park Geun-hye on Monday gave up appealing her 24-year prison sentence, but an appeals trial will still be held as the prosecution filed an appeal of its own, court officials said Monday, Yonhap reports.

Park submitted an appeal waiver to the Seoul Central District Court, officials said. The move makes clear that she's going to boycott the appeals trial, as she did the first trial. Park has boycotted all court proceedings, claiming she's being treated unfairly.

Despite her waiver, an appeals trial will be held because the prosecution has already appealed the April 6 ruling that sentenced Park to 24 years in jail and fined her 18 billion won (US$17 million) on conviction of 16 counts of corruption in connection with the influence-peddling scandal that led to her removal from office.

Prosecutors claimed the verdict cleared Park of some of the bribery charges against her.

Park has already missed the April 13 deadline to appeal the verdict. It appears that she submitted the appeals waiver to override an appeal that her younger sister filed with the court on Friday.