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Now... the Seoul court said... it gave the green light to the arrest warrant in acknowledgment

of the charges Park faces... and concerns she might attempt to destroy evidence.

Our Hwang Hojun has more.

From being the first female leader of South Korea,.. to becoming a pre-trial detainee....

it was a rapid fall from grace.

Former President Park Geun-hye was arrested in the predawn hours of Friday morning as

the Seoul Central District Court granted the state prosecutors' warrant request,... just

21 days after her impeachment.

She's now the country's third former president to be arrested on criminal charges, following

Roh Tae-woo and Chun Doo-hwan.

Park, who went through a nearly nine-hour-warrant hearing, and waited another eight hours at

the nearby Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office during the judge's deliberation, left

to her next destination at around 4:30 a.m,..

The Seoul Detention Center.

The judge explained his decision in a statement that quote "The grounds and necessity for

Park's arrest are acknowledged, and there's a concern over the destruction of evidence."

There are 13 charges against Park, the most among the two other former presidents arrested

in the past.

The charges include,... colluding with her close confidante Choi Soon-sil to extort tens

of millions of dollars from conglomerates,... leaking confidential presidential office documents

to Choi... and ordering the creation of a blacklist of cultural figures critical of

the government.

Many of Park's alleged accomplices, including Choi and Samsung Electronics vice chairman

Lee Jae-yong, have already either been arrested or jailed for their suspected involvement

in the scandal.

Park had repeatedly refused to be questioned by prosecutors and the independent counsel

while she was in office as she had been immune from criminal prosecution.

But she lost that immunity after the Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment motion earlier

this month.

Now that the Seoul Central District Court has granted Park's arrest warrant, prosecutors

will have up to 20 days to continue their investigation and formally indict her.

If she's convicted of receiving bribes,... she could be facing a minimum of ten years

in jail.

Hwang Hojun, Arirang News.