South Korea pardons jailed ex-president Park Geun-hye | Corruption News

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Justice ministry says Park’s pardon is aimed at promoting national unity in the face of difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

South Korea says it will grant a special pardon to former President Park Geun-hye, who is serving a lengthy prison term for a series of corruption charges.

The Justice Ministry said on Friday that Park’s pardon is aimed at promoting a national unity in the face of difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

She was on a list of people receiving special amnesty and was pardoned from “a perspective of national unity”, Park Beom-kye told reporters.

Park was arrested and sent to prison in 2017, after being removed from office following a corruption scandal that prompted months of massive street protests.

Park is a daughter of late authoritarian President Park Chung-hee.

She was elected as South Korea’s first female president.

The 69-year-old was serving a 20-year prison sentence for bribery and abuse of power, with another two years after that for election law violations.

The corruption scandal exposed shady links between big businesses and politics in South Korea, with Park and her close friend Choi Soon-sil accused of taking bribes from conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics, in exchange for preferential treatment.

The resulting public backlash against Park and her conservative party helped propel the left-leaning Moon Jae-in into power.