Security guards escort former culture minister Cho Yoon-sun into a court.[Yonhap News Photo]
Prosecutors demanded jail terms of up to seven years for seven people including two former culture ministers for their role in blacklisting artists and cultural figures regarded by the conservative government of South Korea's jailed ex-president as anti-government.
Former president Park Geun-hye is on trial on multiple charges. She was accused of playing a role in blacklisting outspoken figures to prohibit government agencies from providing financial support to them.
Former government officials and presidential aides have been arrested for creating and managing the list that allegedly included famous movie director Park Chan-wook, who won the grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004, and Ko Un, a poet and routine candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Prosecutors demanded a seven-year jail term each for former culture minister Cho Yoon-sun and Kim Ki-choon, who served as Park's chief aide. Jail terms ranging from three to five years were requested for five others including two former top culture ministry officials.
"Their detriment to our country and people is so great," the prosecution said in a statement, accusing them of failing to rectify Park's mistake. "They tried to split the country on their side and put back the wheel of history."
Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
