South Korean prosecutors have indicted jailed former President Park Geun-hye and sent her case to a criminal court over a high-profile corruption scandal.
The Seoul prosecutors' office on Monday made the indictment.
Park was arrested and confined to a detention facility near Seoul last month on allegations that she colluded with a confidante to extort from businesses and commit other wrongdoing.
Park's 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.
Park has denied any legal wrongdoing.
The probe by prosecutors has already convulsed the biggest conglomerate, Samsung Group, with its chief Jay Y. Lee under arrest for bribing Park and her friend, Choi Soon-sil. All three are being held at detention centres.
Prosecutors accused Park of colluding with Choi to receive 7 billion won ($A8.12 million) from Lotte for favours, they said in a statement. Park was also charged with abuse of power and coercion by pressuring big businesses to contribute funds to non-profit foundations, the prosecutors said.
Lotte has denied allegations that it made improper deals with Park, or those linked to her, for favours. Lee, Choi and Samsung Group have also denied wrongdoing.
It is still unclear if the trial will start before a May 9 special election that will determine her successor.
Park, 65, was elected South Korea's first female president in late 2012. The country will now watch as she is forced to stand in court while handcuffed, bound with rope and possibly dressed in prison garb.
If convicted, her bribery charge carries the biggest legal punishment, ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment.
While deeply unpopular among many South Koreans, Park still has supporters, and some conservative politicians and media outlets are already demanding that authorities pardon her if she's convicted.
South Korea pardoned two of its convicted former leaders in the late 1990s in a bid for national reconciliation amid financial crisis, and its court had until recently showed leniency toward punishing corrupt business tycoons because of worries about hurting the economy.
