Former South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has been released from prison on Friday after spending almost 5 years behind bars. The 69 years old Park was sentenced to a combined 22-year-old prison sentence after being impeached in a parliamentary vote. She was removed from the presidential office over corruption scandals back in 2017.
Ex-president Park is the very first democratically elected leader that was thrown out of office in the South Korean Constitutional Court’s history. Within her time in prison, she was hospitalized many times due to her deteriorating health. She is constantly receiving treatment from Seoul hospital due to pain in her shoulder, back, and other health problems. This is why the present President Moon Jae-in has decided to pardon Park.
She has been pardoned and released from jail as part of President Moon’s special amnesty for the occasion of New Year. Her certificate of pardon came at midnight while she was at the hospital. Park will stay at the hospital till February. Later, she will receive security from the government as well. However, it must be noted that this security will not be a part of the presidential privileges like personal secretaries, pensions, and many more since she was sentenced in the past.
As per local broadcasters, although Park did not comment, her lawyer had delivered an apology in which she had apologized for the troubles she had caused and also thanked the current president for pardoning her. According to the government, this ruling was taken not because of Park’s bad health condition but for encouraging unity among people too.
Ever since Park was hospitalized, her supporters have been conducting rallies and protesting against her sentence near Seoul hospital. They want her to be free which is also a concern for the upcoming elections in March. Park Geun-Hye is the daughter of a prominent authoritarian President Park Chung-Hee. Her influence and a large number of supporters in Daegu city along with North Gyeongsang province hold a great significance in the approaching elections.