jpnn.com, KOREA SELATAN - South Korean President Moon Jae-in pardoned former president Park Geun-hye, who is serving a prison sentence for corruption, according to the justice ministry.
The pardon was given by Moon in the midst of intense competition for the presidential election.
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Park's lawyer, Yoo Yeong-ha, said Park had apologized for causing harm to the public, while expressing gratitude to President Moon for making such a decision.
President Moon's office said the pardon was granted to Park with the intention to "overcome unfortunate past history, promote people's unity, and join hands for the future."
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Park, 69, is South Korea's first democratically elected president. However, she was removed from office when the Constitutional Court upheld a parliamentary decision in 2017 to impeach her over a scandal.
The scandal also dragged the leaders of two giant companies, including Samsung, behind bars.
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Park was fired as president after she was found guilty of conspiring with a friend to receive tens of billions of won in funding from big corporations.
The money was mostly used to fund friends' families and non-profit foundations.
In January, a constitutional court sentenced Park to 20 years in prison on corruption charges.
The punishment marked her fall from power and the end of the legal process.
President Moon previously expressed his determination that he would not pardon those convicted of corruption.
However, many supporters as well as politicians from the main opposition People's Power party were calling for Park's pardon ahead of the March 2022 presidential election.
The insistence was based on the grounds that Park's health was deteriorating and that political strife was deepening.
Opposition members in parliament said Park was experiencing health problems in prison, eventually having to undergo shoulder surgery.
Park's prison sentence has been the subject of heated and divisive political debate in South Korea.
Conservatives, who continue to stage weekly demonstrations in downtown Seoul, have called for Park's release. They also launched criticism of President Moon.
A poll conducted by Gallup Korea in November showed that 48 percent of respondents opposed granting pardon for Park. That was a drop from around 60 percent at the start of 2021.
Lee Jae-myung, the mainstay of Moon's Democratic Party, as well as People's Power party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, have been competing in recent opinion polls. (ant/dil/mcr20/jpnn)
This news has been broadcast on JPNN.com with the title: Terbukti Korupsi Miliaran, Eks Presiden Ini Sukses Paksa Negara Beri Ampunan