A South Korean court has sentenced jailed former president Park Geun-hye to an additional eight years for abusing state funds and violating election laws.

She now faces the prospect of more than three decades behind bars. She is already serving a 24-year term over a massive corruption scandal that led to her removal from office last year.

Seoul Central District Court on Friday found her guilty of unlawfully receiving about 3 billion won (£2 million) from chiefs of the National Intelligence Service during her presidency.

The court separately sentenced her to two years in prison for breaking election laws by meddling in her party candidate’s nomination ahead of parliamentary elections in 2016.

She did not appear in court on Friday.

A supporter of Park Geun-hye waves a national flag
A supporter of Park Geun-hye waves a national flag (Lee Jin-man/AP)

Park was found not guilty of bribery charges related to the money transfers. The court said it was unclear whether the spy chiefs sought or received favours in return.

While her prison term currently adds up to 32 years, this could change, and potentially get even longer, depending on rulings of appeals courts.

Following the ruling in April, prosecutors appealed against the 24-year term on charges including bribery and abuse of state power and are demanding 30 years in prison. The Seoul High Court will rule on the case on August 24.

Following protests by millions, South Korean legislators impeached Park on December 2016.

She was formally removed from office following a ruling by the Constitutional Court in March last year and was arrested weeks later.