Park's supporters claim bias, others relieved at 'principled' court ruling
'국정농단' 파기환송에 대법원 앞 시민들 '시끌'
The people of Korea showed mixed reactions to the Supreme Court ruling.
Our Won Jung-hwan was out on the streets to hear what citizens thought about the final verdict of their ousted leader, and de facto Samsung leader, Lee Jae-yong.
South Korea's top court said former President Park Geun-hye's charges of corruption… should be separate from charges such as abuse of authority,... and so that's why they've been sent back to the lower court.
Separate charges for Park could mean a lengthier prison term because when charges are combined, like they had been, defendants don't typically get the maximum sentence for each one.
Her supporters are furious.
I think it's the wrong decision. We think this verdict is meaningless,... because we know that in the past three years of investigation, there's been not a single bit of evidence that President Park accepted money from anyone.
We had a little hope for the Supreme Court,… but once again, we saw the truth that country's judiciary works for the Moon Jae-in administration. It's just painful to see the court trying to tie President Park's charges to bribery."
But some welcomed the decision.
"I should see the whole text,… but I believe the lower court had some procedural problems in the first place,… so I'm fine with the result."
"I don't know how the law works,… but for our generation,... we believe it's important to reveal the misdeeds of the former president since it was a massive case that changed the country. I am personally in favor of increasing the former president's sentence."
The Supreme Court also sent back to the lower court the corruption cases involving Samsung's Lee Jae-yong.
Reversing the earlier decision,... the three horses and equestrian training Lee procured for the daughter of Choi Soon-sil... and funds for a children's sports foundation run by the Choi family,... are now considered bribes.
But when asked what they think about the impact on the country's biggest conglomerate already facing headwinds,... the answer was crystal clear.
"If Lee gets a harsher sentence, it will be inevitably affect the country's economy. But even if there is an economic issue right now, establishing principle in terms of penalties will be helpful in the long run."
"Experts are anticipating that today's decision could lead to harsher sentences for Park and Lee, who are at the heart of this massive corruption scandal.
Won Jung-hwan Arirang News."
The people of Korea showed mixed reactions to the Supreme Court ruling.
Our Won Jung-hwan was out on the streets to hear what citizens thought about the final verdict of their ousted leader, and de facto Samsung leader, Lee Jae-yong.
South Korea's top court said former President Park Geun-hye's charges of corruption… should be separate from charges such as abuse of authority,... and so that's why they've been sent back to the lower court.
Separate charges for Park could mean a lengthier prison term because when charges are combined, like they had been, defendants don't typically get the maximum sentence for each one.
Her supporters are furious.
I think it's the wrong decision. We think this verdict is meaningless,... because we know that in the past three years of investigation, there's been not a single bit of evidence that President Park accepted money from anyone.
We had a little hope for the Supreme Court,… but once again, we saw the truth that country's judiciary works for the Moon Jae-in administration. It's just painful to see the court trying to tie President Park's charges to bribery."
But some welcomed the decision.
"I should see the whole text,… but I believe the lower court had some procedural problems in the first place,… so I'm fine with the result."
"I don't know how the law works,… but for our generation,... we believe it's important to reveal the misdeeds of the former president since it was a massive case that changed the country. I am personally in favor of increasing the former president's sentence."
The Supreme Court also sent back to the lower court the corruption cases involving Samsung's Lee Jae-yong.
Reversing the earlier decision,... the three horses and equestrian training Lee procured for the daughter of Choi Soon-sil... and funds for a children's sports foundation run by the Choi family,... are now considered bribes.
But when asked what they think about the impact on the country's biggest conglomerate already facing headwinds,... the answer was crystal clear.
"If Lee gets a harsher sentence, it will be inevitably affect the country's economy. But even if there is an economic issue right now, establishing principle in terms of penalties will be helpful in the long run."
"Experts are anticipating that today's decision could lead to harsher sentences for Park and Lee, who are at the heart of this massive corruption scandal.
Won Jung-hwan Arirang News."