South Korea’s government will grant a special pardon to former President Park Geun-hye, releasing her from prison after she spent nearly five years behind bars for corruption.
“From the perspective of the national reconciliation, former Park Geun-hye, who is serving a long-term prison sentence, will be granted a special pardon,” the Justice Ministry said in a statement Friday. She will be released on Dec. 31, it said.
Another former conservative president Lee Myung-bak was not included in the list of pardons released Friday. The move to free Park comes as current President Moon Jae-in, a rival of the former leader, winds down his single five-year term, which ends in May 2022.
