Ex-S. Korean president Park Geun-hye set free

SEOUL -- Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye was set free Friday under a special pardon granted by the incumbent President Moon Jae-in, according to Yonhap news agency.

Park, who had been imprisoned for 57 months over corruption charges, reportedly received the certificate of pardon at a hospital in Seoul, where she has been treated for over one month due to her chronic shoulder and waist pain.

The 69-year-old, after receiving shoulder surgery in 2019, allegedly planned to get treatment at the hospital until Feb 2 next year.

A week earlier, the justice ministry announced that Park was included in the list of Moon's special amnesty for the new year.

Park was sentenced to a combined 22-year prison term and had served the sentence since 2017 after being impeached and removed from office over corruption charges.

According to the presidential Blue House, Park's deteriorating health was considered to make the pardon decision.

Park will be protected by the presidential security service, but she will not be subject to other privileges as a former president, including the provision of special pensions and personal secretaries, for her conviction.