Former President of South Korea Arrested

Park Geun-hye, the ousted president of South Korea, was arrested early Friday on charges of financial corruption and abuse of power. According to Reuters, a South Korean court confirmed the arrest warrant for Ms. Park Geun-hye early Friday. She is to remain in prison for 20 days while investigations are conducted. A district judge in central Seoul, the capital of South Korea, stated in the ruling that the arrest warrant was approved due to the possibility of evidence tampering. Two hours after the issuance of the arrest warrant, Ms. Park was transferred to the Seoul Central Prison outside the capital. Reports indicate that South Korean media broadcast the transfer of the ousted president to prison live. A number of Ms. Park's supporters gathered at 5 a.m. with the national flag in front of the Seoul Central Prison, chanting in her support. The ousted president had appeared in court on Thursday, answering questions regarding the case for eight hours. Ms. Park Geun-hye denies any wrongdoing. She was impeached by the South Korean parliament at the end of last year. Following the parliament's decision, the Constitutional Court of South Korea also ruled for Ms. Park Geun-hye's removal. The 65-year-old, daughter of former dictator Park Chung-hee, is accused of colluding with a friend named Choi Soon-sil and one of her former advisors to pressure large companies in the country for financial contributions to her two political foundations. Ms. Park is accused of soliciting bribes from executives to support the merger of two Samsung affiliates into one company.