South Korea pardons former president imprisoned on corruption charges

Asia-Pacific, News December 25, 2021 , by IRIA No Comments

South Korea’s government will pardon ex-President Park Geun-hye, who is serving time for corruption

The South Korean government has pardoned former President Park Geun-hye, who was serving 22 years in prison for corruption.

The country’s justice ministry said that Park’s pardon is aimed at promoting national unity in the face of difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We should move into a new era by getting over the pains of the past. It’s time to boldly pull together all our strengths for the future rather than fighting against each other while being preoccupied with the past,” President Moon Jae-in said in a statement.

“In the case of former President Park, we considered the fact that her health condition has deteriorated a lot after serving nearly five years in prison,” he said.

The 69-year-old Park was among 3,094 people receiving special amnesty on December 31.

Park, the country’s first female president, was arrested and sent to prison in 2017, after being removed from office following a corruption scandal that prompted months of massive street protests. She was found guilty on multiple counts of abuse of power and bribery in 2018 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Park is the daughter of former dictator President Park Chung-hee.