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Former president Park Geun-hye waits for the first hearing of her trial to begin at the Seoul Central District Court on May 23. (by Choi You-jin, staff photographer)
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Court made the decision due to the great public interest surrounding the criminal trial of former president
Former president Park Geun-hye’s scheduled sentencing in her first trial over a government influence scandal will be broadcast live on television and online at 2:10 pm on Apr. 6. Hon. Judge Kim Se-yoon of Seoul Central District Court’s 22nd criminal division, which is hearing the 66-year-old former president’s case, announced on Apr. 3 that he had “decided to permit a live broadcast in consideration of the public interest and various other factors.” But the method used is to involve the court itself broadcasting images, rather than the sentencing being filmed by outside news outlets. The court explained that the decision was “made in light of maintaining order in the court and other factors.” It will be the first lower court sentencing to be broadcast live since a Supreme Court rule implemented on Aug. 1 of last year allowing for the televising of first and second trial sentencing. The courts hearing the first trials of Samsung Electronics vice president Lee Jae-yong in Aug. 2017 and Choi Soon-sil in Feb. 2018 decided not to broadcast their sentencing live, either because the defendants did not consent to the trial being filmed or televised or because it was judged to be potentially prejudicial to the defendants. Park previously submitted a handwritten opinion to the court in February stating that she did not want the proceedings televised. The court appears to have made its decision to permit the broadcasting in light of the great public interest in the criminal trial of a former president. Supreme Court rules on the viewing and filming of trials amended in July 2017 state that a court may permit televising even without the defendant’s consent if it is deemed necessary for the public interest. Park has yet to disclose to the court whether she will be attending the sentencing hearing. In light of her consistent refusal to appear in court from Oct. 2017 until her final trial, however, the likelihood of her not appearing at the sentencing hearing is seen as high. By Hyun So-eun, staff reporter Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
