Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye Pardoned

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.

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."

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.

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.