Former President Park Geun-hye is to make her first court appearance on Tuesday, since being indicted on a total of 18 charges mid-April.

She is obliged to show up at the Seoul Central District Court at 2 p.m. in southern Seoul for the first hearing of the high-profile case. The court held two preliminary hearings earlier, but she was not obliged to attend.

Park, who was ejected from power in March with less than a year left in her five-year term, is accused of abuse of power, government secret leaks and bribery, among others. She claims innocence. 

To see the former leader taking the stand, over 500 people had applied for the 68 seats available.

At the upcoming trial, Park will sit side-by-side with Choi Soon-sil, Park’s friend of over 40 years and the central figure in the scandal that led to her disgraceful fall from power. Choi was indicted as an accomplice in many of Park’s alleged crimes, including the bribery scheme.

“We deny all the charges, including bribes from Samsung,” Park’s top lawyer Yoo Young-ha said during a preliminary hearing.

Choi’s attorneys asked the court to separate her trial from Park’s, citing emotional distress in facing Park in the same courtroom but were rejected by the court.

Park is also under suspicion of allowing her friend with no title in the government to peddle influence in state ranging from nominating senior officials to deciding Park’s daily wardrobe choices.

Choi herself is on her own trial for bribery and abuse of power, as is Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong who is under detention for allegedly bribing Choi in exchange for political support of a controversial merger of two Samsung units seen as a crucial step to smooth the transfer of power from his father and its chairman Lee Kun-hee.

The scandal removed her from office on March 10, which triggered the earlier-than-scheduled May 9 presidential election.

By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)