Ex-Prime Minister Starts Life Behind Bars

Former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook was put behind bars on Monday after the Supreme Court last week upheld her conviction for bribery.

Han showed up at the prison in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province around 2 p.m. She turned in all her personal belongings and was given toiletries and other necessities. She spent her first night in a cell for newcomers, which aims to help inmates adapt to prison life for a couple of days.

She will be given a medical examination and general guidelines for life in prison before being assigned to a cell that she may either share with other inmates or have to herself.

"There will be no special treatment for a person of high social status." A Justice Ministry official said. "Cells are without exception assigned according to regulations."

It is the first time that a former prime minister has served a prison sentence.

At the jail gate Han, surrounded by supporters and the press, once again protested her innocence before being led away.