Former President Lee Myung-bak among 1,373 convicts to be pardoned by South Korea

The South Korean government of President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Tuesday it will grant a special pardon to ex-President Lee Myung-bak, who was sentenced to a 17-year prison term for a range of corruption crimes.

The Justice Ministry said in a statement that Lee is among 1,373 convicts who will be pardoned on Wednesday. It said it has decided to include some politicians including Lee as part of efforts to promote a national unity.

Lee, 81, was released from prison temporarily in June, when prosecutors granted him a temporary release over health concerns. It was effectively a life sentence as he was not due for release until 2036, when he would be 95.

Lee, a CEO-turned-conservative hero before his fall from grace, was convicted of taking bribes from big businesses including Samsung, embezzling funds from a company that he owned, and other corruption-related crimes before and during his presidency from 2008 to 2013.

Lee's corruption case erupted after his successor and fellow conservative Park Geun-hye was ousted and sent to jail over a separate 2016-17 corruption scandal.

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The back-to-back scandals have deeply hurt conservatives in South Korea and deepened a national divide.

Park, who was serving a lengthy prison term, was pardoned in December 2021, when South Korea was governed by Yoon’s liberal predecessor, Moon Jae-in.

The pardons, effective at midnight on Wednesday, mark the second time Yoon has exercised his clemency power since taking office in May.

In August, Samsung Electronics executive chairman Lee Jae-yong was among the beneficiaries of Yoon's first pardons.

South Korean presidents have frequently ended up in prison after their time in power, usually once their political rivals have moved into the presidential Blue House.

with AFP and AP inputs