Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye Will Be Pardoned – Justice Ministry

Seoul, Dec 24: Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who is serving a 22-year sentence for corruption and power abuse, was included on Friday into the list of people who will grant pardon as part of the New year amnesty, the Justice Ministry said.
“The government said on December 24 that on the eve of 2022, 3094 people including the former president will grant pardon starting from December 31,” the ministry said in a statement.
According to the Yonhap news agency, in 2021, Park was hospitalized three times because of chronic shoulder and lower back pain, and her health condition is the reason for including the former president in the list of pardoned persons.
Park was dislodged in 2017 due to a political scandal involving her friend, Choi Soon-sil, who was accused of interfering in South Korean politics by influencing Park’s decisions. The ex-president was also charged with accepting bribes worth 3.5 billion won ($2.9 million) from three former chiefs of the National Intelligence Service from 2013-2016 and sentenced to a prison term in 2018.