The former South Korean president was impeached. Now she's facing an arrest warrant.

Prosecutors requested the warrant for Park Geun-hye on Monday.

Americans looking with confusion and shock at the state of our own political system may take solace in the madness happening in South Korea, one of our closest allies, where prosecutors just requested an arrest warrant for the country’s former president.

The bizarre political scandal surrounding former President Park Geun-hye started in late 2016 and ultimately resulted in Park’s impeachment and dismissal from her post earlier this month. It was the first time that a democratically elected president had been removed from office in South Korea.

Now Park might also be the first democratically elected South Korean leader to be put behind bars.

On Monday, prosecutors formally requested a warrant for Park’s arrest from the Seoul District Court on charges of corruption and abuse of power. Park denied the allegations. Her arrest depends on whether the court grants the warrant, a decision that is expected by the end of the week after the court holds a hearing on Thursday.

"The case is very grave as the suspect has demonstrated acts of abuse of power by making companies give money and infringing on the freedom of corporate management by using powerful position and authority as president," prosecutors said in a statement, according to the BBC.

After questioning Park for 14 hours last week, prosecutors warned that “there is a danger of her destroying incriminating evidence if she is not arrested.” Prosecutors have identified 13 charges against her, including bribery, abuse of power, and leaking confidential information.

The most serious charge is bribery, a crime punishable by “life in prison or a term for more than 10 years,” according to the Korea Herald, one of South Korea’s largest English newspapers.

When Park was still president, she was able to avoid questioning and refused investigators entry into her office because of immunity from prosecution granted to sitting South Korean presidents. But now that she has been impeached, she is considered a private citizen and is subject to questioning and arrest.

A brief review of the bizarre political scandal that led to Park’s impeachment

The heart of the scandal involves Park’s relationship with her lifelong friend and confidant Choi Soon-sil. Choi, a private citizen who had no government title or security clearance but worked closely with the president, has already been arrested and is on trial. Choi is accused of coercing $70 million in bribes from big businesses and promising that they would receive favorable treatment from Park’s government.

When South Korean constitutional court judges ruled in favor of Park’s impeachment on March 10, they said she had broken the law by allowing Choi to meddle in state affairs and violating the constitution. “These violations undermine the rule law and a representative democracy,” said Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi.

Choi is also accused of colluding with Samsung’s top executive, Lee Jae-yong, and receiving more than $38 million in bribes from the South Korean technology giant. Lee has also been arrested and is on trial for bribery charges. Both Choi and Lee have denied wrongdoing and are currently detained in a facility outside of Seoul, the capital city. When they were arrested in February, prosecutors identified former President Park as a criminal accomplice.

Park’s critics and supporters respond

Park’s critics have expressed hope that justice will finally be achieved and Park will be imprisoned.

“This request for an arrest warrant for Park on bribery and other charges is a historic decision,” said Youn Kwan-suk, a spokesperson for the main opposition Democratic Party. “It is a reasonable conclusion under the law.”

But Park’s supporters in the conservative Liberty Korea Party issued a statement calling the arrest warrant request “regrettable” and expressing the hope that Park will not be detained, according to the Korea Herald.

While it’s not guaranteed that the request for the warrant will be granted by the court, the move is yet another blow to South Korea, a country that is already dealing with questions over its future relationship with the United States under President Trump, economic and political tensions with China, and concerns about recent North Korean missile tests.