Ex-South Korean President formally charged with bribery and set to face trial within weeks

South Korea's former President has been formally charged over corruption allegations and is set to face trial within weeks, prosecutors have announced.

Park Geun-hye is accused of colluding with a confidante to extort from businesses and commit other wrongdoing.

She has now been charged with bribery and a number of other crimes including abuse of power, extortion, and leaking state secrets, prosecutors announced.

Her case sent for trial and is expected to start shortly.

Park was ousted from office after being impeached by Parliament over the allegations and was arrested last month.

She has denied any wrongdoing.

Her criminal trial is expected to start in coming weeks and she will remain jailed during court proceedings that could take as long as six months.