by Josh Smith and Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL, December 24 (Reuters) – Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for corruption, has been pardoned, the justice minister said on Friday, in a context of electoral campaign tightened ahead of the presidential election next March.
The first woman to have acceded to the presidency of the country, in 2013, Park Geun-hye was dismissed in 2017 – a first in the country – following a scandal that also led to prison sentences for the leaders of two conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics.
She was convicted of colluding with a confidante to collect tens of billions of won from large conglomerates to help her family and fund nonprofit foundations she owned.
The conviction of Park Geun-hye, 69, was confirmed last January by the Supreme Court, putting an end to the judicial soap opera which led to the downfall of the former leader, while paving the way for the possibility of a pardon.
This decision is intended “to overcome an unfortunate past, achieve the unity of the people and allow to take a new step forward in the future”, declared the Minister of Justice, Park Beom-kye, during a press briefing. .
Lee Myung-bak, predecessor of Park Geun-hye’s head of the country and also jailed for corruption, has not been pardoned.
Many supporters and politicians of the main opposition party, the People’s Power Party (PPP, center), demanded that Park Geun-hye be pardoned. Some read had pointed out that she suffered from health problems in prison.
Lee Jae-myung, the ruling Democratic Party candidate, and Yoon Suk-yeol, the PPP candidate, are neck and neck in the latest polls leading up to the presidential election in March. (French version Jean Terzian)