Imprisoned former President Park Geun-hye refused to appear at the resumption of her bribery trial on Monday, over a month after she rejected attending court proceedings in discontent at the extension of her arrest warrant, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
Park submitted an explanatory statement in the early morning to the Seoul Detention Centre where she has been held since late March, citing back pain and swelling in her knee, according to the Seoul Central District Court and correctional authorities.
The detention centre handed in its own written report to the court to the effect that it would not seek to force her to the courtroom given her previous status as a president.
After a brief recess, the court called off the day's hearing and said the trial would have to resume next session with or without her.
The ousted leader was indicted in April over a string of charges, including bribery and abuse of power, in a massive influence-peddling scandal that cost her the presidency. The Seoul court extended her detention for another six months on Oct. 13.
Following that decision, she lashed out at the judiciary and the prosecution in a rare courtroom speech on Oct 16, saying they were not being fair with her case. She said she would refuse to stand in the trial in the future, since she is being made a victim of political revenge. Her trial had been on hold since then.
The court also appointed Park five public defenders, as her lawyers resigned en masse in protest. The five new attorneys, who were present in the courtroom Monday, said none of them had yet been able to meet Park to discuss the case.
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