An associate of South Korea’s impeached former president Park Geun-hye’s, Choi Soon-sil, was sentenced to 20 years and fined 18 billion won (USD $17 million) for abuse of power and bribery, among other crimes.

The sentence [AP report] was handed down from the Seoul Central District Court [official website].

Choi was unheard of until late 2016 when it was revealed to the public that she was editing the president’s speeches and picking out her clothing without holding a government position. Last June, Choi received a three-year prison term in a separate case related to influence-peddling in university admissions.

Park was impeached last March and will remain detained until April 2018. Her legal team resigned [JURIST report] in October to protest the trial, believing that the court was biased against the former president.