Friday December 31, 2021
After five years in prison
South Korea’s ex-President Park pardoned
After a major corruption scandal, South Korea’s ex-president Park Geun Hye is sentenced to 20 years in prison. But now the daughter of the former dictator Park Chung Hee is at large again. The government gives several reasons for the pardon.
Former South Korean President Park Geun Hye has been released after serving almost five years in prison. The daughter of the former dictator Park Chung Hee, sentenced to 20 years in prison for corruption and abuse of power, was on a list of just under 3,100 offenders for whom the government had issued a special amnesty last week.
According to reports from South Korean broadcasters, the 69-year-old conservative politician received her “pardon” at midnight in a hospital in Seoul. She was transferred there from the detention center for handling various complaints.
The park penalty release is controversial. Several civil organizations, including the trade union confederation KCTU, protested in front of President Moon Jae In’s office this week, calling for the decision to be reversed. The social-liberal Moon had justified the early release of Parks, among other things, with her poor health. The amnesty should also serve “national unity”.
Park denied the allegations
Park was the first woman in the country to be elected president in late 2012. She was involved in a major corruption scandal during her tenure. The Constitutional Court removed her from office in March 2017. She was arrested that same month and later charged.
In the first instance, Park initially received a prison sentence of 24 years. Park always denied the allegations. In a separate trial for taking advantage of the office, she was also sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. In the past year, various proceedings against Park were brought together in one renegotiation. In January of this year, the Supreme Court upheld Park’s 20-year sentence. Overall, the penalties for Park recently added up to 22 years.