Former S Korea Park president released after serving nearly 5 years in prison | Political Issues
Park is leaving Seoul Hospital, where he has been staying since last month to receive medical treatment, after regulatory authorities issued a letter of pardon.
Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye was released from prison on Friday after being found guilty of corruption, sparking controversy over his candidacy for the March presidential election.
Park, 69, was the first democratically elected leader to be removed from office when the Constitutional Court ruled in his favor. a parliamentary vote in 2017 to accuse him in a scandal that also led to the arrest of the kings of two groups, Samsung and Lotte.
South Korea’s Supreme Court in January upheld a 20-year prison sentence after Park was found guilty of colluding with a fellow prisoner, receiving billions of dollars from corporations, mainly to support his friend’s family and which are not. -first starting fees.
President Moon Jae-in issued a special pardon in Park last week, mentioning his growing health and expressing his hope of “overcoming a tragic history and promoting national unity”.
Advertisers showed Park leaving Seoul Hospital, where he had been staying since last month to receive medical treatment, after regulatory authorities issued a pardon in the middle of the night.
He did not respond but his lawyer said Park, the daughter of a former warlord, apologized for the public outcry and thanked Moon for making the “difficult decision”.
Park’s release comes as his former party, the main opposition People Power Party, and Moon’s Democratic Party are embroiled in a bitter presidential race.
His imprisonment divided the world, with right-wing wings, pro-Park teams are holding weekly rallies to criticize the Moon and its principles and call for Park’s release, until the long-running COVID-19 ban banned these meetings last year.
Hundreds of Park’s paramedics rushed to the hospital where they lived late Thursday to celebrate his release, and more than 1,000 flowers arrived.
About 200 people protested in Seoul for the release, Yonhap news agency reported.
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
People Power spokesman Yoon Suk-yeol, who investigated Park’s fraud as attorney general, said Friday he did his job as a government official, adding that he wanted to visit Park when his health improved.
