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The ex-president is part of the group of people pardoned on the occasion of the New Year in South Korea. The decision, according to the Government of the Asian country, responds to the deteriorating state of health of the 69-year-old woman.
Park Geun-hye was “included in a list of people who will receive clemency,” an official from the South Korean presidential office announced on December 24 hours before the official announcement by the Minister of Justice.
“The Government grants a special pardon to former President Park Geun-hye, who has been serving her sentence for a long time and restores her civil right to vote,” Justice Minister Park Beom-kye said during a briefing, adding that women will not be able to run for president again.
In his announcement, the official assured that Park’s pardon aims to promote national unity in the face of the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Her release is also due to the health problems that the ex-president has presented, who has been hospitalized three times for chronic pain in the lower back and underwent surgery on her shoulder in 2019.
“We have included former President Park Geun-hye and former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook on the list of pardons to overcome unfortunate past history, achieve unity of the people to overcome the coronavirus and the national crisis, and provide the opportunity to take advantage of a new step towards the future ”, declared the Minister of Justice.
The government makes this decision as many politicians from the main opposition conservative party, the Popular Power, have been calling for Park’s clemency before the presidential elections in March.
Also, some believe that Park’s release may help Tory candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, who holds a slight lead over liberal Lee Jae-myung, rise in the polls.
The scandalous plot of the ‘Rasputina’
Park Geun-hye was arrested and sent to prison in 2017 after being removed from office for being at the center of a corruption and abuse of power scandal, along with her friend and confidante Choi Soon-sil, in the so-called plot of the ‘Rasputina’, which sparked months of street protests in South Korea.
The official was found guilty of collecting millions of South Korean won from large conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai and Lotte, to help her family and fund some of their non-profit foundations.
He was also accused of sharing secret government documents, blacklisting critics of his policies or even firing officials who opposed his abuse of power.
The daughter of the late authoritarian President Park Chung-hee was the first female president of the Asian nation.
With AP, EFE and Reuters
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