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A news broadcast shows Hon. Kim Se-yun of the Seoul Central District Court reading the sentence against former president Park Geun-hye on Apr. 6. Park was sentenced to 24 years in prison and US$16.8 million in fines.

A sentence of 18 billion won (US$16.8 million) in fines imposed by the court on Apr. 6 in addition to its 24-year prison sentence against former President Park Geun-hye is raising questions about how the amount was decided and whether Park will be able to pay it.

In cases of bribes involving more than 100 million won (US$93,500), the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes allows for sentences of life or 10 or more years in prison along with fines amounting to between two and five times the amount of the bribes.

Park was convicted of accepting 7,294,270,000 won (US$6.82 million) from Samsung and 7 billion won (US$6.5 million) from Lotte and demanding 8.9 billion won (US$8.3 million) from SK; in this case, the largest amount – 8.9 billion – serves as the standard for the fine. This means the bribery punishments available to the court ranged from 17.8 billion won (US$16.6 million), or double the 8.9 billion won, to 66.75 billion won (US$62.4 million), which is five times the amount plus an additional 50% for multiple offenses. The amount chosen means the court selected essentially the smallest possible fine.

The 18 billion won in fines was the same amount imposed on Park’s confidante Choi Soon-sil. But while the court in Choi’s case imposed collection for 7,294,270,000 won in Samsung bribe payments for equestrian support, Park was not subjected to additional penalties. While the bribe amounts are to be confiscated in accordance with criminal law, the court concluded that Samsung’s bribe reverted to Choi rather than Park herself.

In its Apr. 6 ruling, the court said the defendant would be “detained in a house of labor for three years” if she fails to pay the fines. Fines must be paid within 30 days of the ruling finalization date; the criminal code established a maximum term of three years’ detention in a workhouse for failure to pay.

Park’s current assets are believed to consist of her home in Seoul’s Naegok neighborhood – worth 2.8 billion won (US$2.6 million) - and a bank balance of around 5 billion won (US$4.7 million). Prosecutors have ordered preservation measures for the Naegok home and 3 billion won (US$2.8 million) in deposits – with the aim of recovering 3.65 billion won (US$3.4 million) in bribe payments if Park is convicted over the acceptance of special activity funds from the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

Once that amount is collected, Park would be left with assets worth around 4.15 billion won (US$3.88 million); even if that full amount were paid in fines, she would still face a balance of around 13.85 billion won (US$13.0 million). The fine amount could also rise with a guilty ruling in the NIS special activity fund case – which means the likelihood of Park being sentenced to a workhouse for failure to pay her fines is currently high.

By Kim Min-kyung, staff reporter

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