AKIPRESS.COM - South Korea's former leader Park Geun-hye abused her power and pressured companies to pay her tens of millions of dollars in bribes, a prosecutor told a Seoul court at the start of her corruption trial on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

If found guilty of taking bribes from business leaders including Samsung Group scion Jay Y. Lee, one of the key accusations that led to her impeachment, Park faces more than 10 years in jail.

Park, the country's first democratically elected leader to be removed from office, is charged with taking bribes worth about 29.8 billion won ($26.65 million) from Lee alone.

"The accused Park Geun-Hye, in collusion with her friend Choi Soon-Sil...abused power and pressured business companies to provide bribes, thus taking private gains," senior prosecutor Lee Won-Seok told the court.

Park has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty at the trial. Her lawyers rejected the 18 charges against her in pre-trial proceedings. Lee has also rejected charges he bribed Park in return for favours for Samsung.

Park's court appearance is the first time she has been seen in public since her arrest in March. She arrived at court handcuffed and wearing a navy pantsuit, her hair held back in a haphazard bun and her face showing little sign of make-up.

Media reported Park said she did not want a jury trial.

The first day of the trial comes two weeks after the election of President Moon Jae-in, who has promised to get tough on chaebol bosses who commit crimes. Park was arrested on March 31, three weeks after she was removed from office by a Constitutional Court ruling and after a warrant judge decided she posed a flight risk and was likely to tamper with evidence.