SEOUL —
A South Korean court has sentenced the former presidential chief of staff and the former culture minister to prison for blacklisting thousands of artists deemed unfriendly to ousted president Park Geun-hye and denying them state support.
The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday sentenced Park's former aide Kim Ki-choon to three years behind bars and former Culture Minister Kim Jong-deok to two years for abuse of authority and other charges.
The court sentenced five other former presidential and government officials to shorter or suspended prison terms over the case.
They are the latest to be convicted in a corruption scandal surrounding Park who was removed from office and arrested in March.
