Choi Soon-sil, the confidante of former South Korean president Park Geun-hye, has been jailed for three years for soliciting favours for her daughter, in the first court ruling over the influence-peddling scandal that led to Ms Park’s impeachment.
Ms Choi is at the centre of the corruption scandal, accused of exerting undue influence over an array of political decisions. She is also charged with colluding with former president Park to extort tens of millions of dollars from some of South Korea’s biggest companies.
Prosecutors had sought a seven-year jail term for Ms Choi on charges of obstructing justice as she used her ties to Ms Park to force Seoul’s prestigious Ewha Womans University to admit her daughter, Chung Yoo-ra.