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Park Geun Hye in a hospital wheelchair: freedom for "national unity"
Photo: YONHAP / EPA
Former South Korean President Park Geun Hye is at large again.
She was detained for almost five years after being sentenced to twenty years in prison for corruption and abuse of power.
Last week, the government issued a special amnesty for Park - as well as for almost 3,100 other offenders.
According to reports from South Korean broadcasters, the 69-year-old conservative politician received her pardon at midnight on Friday in a hospital in Seoul.
She was transferred there from the detention center for handling various complaints.
Protests against the amnesty
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 is the daughter of the former dictator Park Chung Hee and was the first woman in the country to be elected president in late 2012.
During her tenure, Park was involved in a major corruption scandal, and the Constitutional Court ousted her in March 2017.
She was arrested that same month and later charged - she always denied the charges.
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There were always new decisions about how long Park should be in custody.
In the first instance, the ex-president received a prison sentence of 24 years.
In a separate proceeding, she was sentenced to five years imprisonment for accepting benefits in office.
Last year, the courts brought various proceedings against Park together in a new hearing.
In January of this year, the Supreme Court upheld Parks' sentence to 20 years in prison.
jlk / dpa
