S. Korean ex-president jailed over corruption allegations
South Korea's disgraced ex-President Park Geun-hye was arrested and jailed Friday over high-profile corruption allegations that already ended her tumultuous four-year rule and prompted an election to find her successor.
A convoy of vehicles, including a black sedan carrying Park, entered a detention facility near Seoul after the Seoul Central District Court granted prosecutors' request to arrest her. Many Park supporters waved national flags and shouting "president" as Park's car entered the detention facility.
Prosecutors can detain her for up to 20 days before formally charging her, meaning she will likely be in jail while her case is heard. A district court normally issues a ruling within six months of an indictment.
The Seoul court's decision marks yet another humiliating fall for Park, South Korea's first female president who was elected in 2012 amid a wave of conservative nostalgia for her late dictator father whose 18-year rule is marked by both rapid economic rise and enormous human rights abuses.
