South Korea’s disgraced ex-president Park leaves hospital after prison release

SEOUL: South Korea’s ex-president Park Geun-hye left hospital on Thursday, three months after she was released from prison following a pardon for her role in one of the country’s biggest corruption cases.

Since the December pardon, 70-year-old Park has been an inpatient at the Samsung Medical Centre in Seoul, being treated for shoulder pain and dental problems as well as stress, according to local media. She had been serving a 20-year prison sentence for abuse of power and bribery, and another two years for election law violations. Her release comes less than two months ahead of the inauguration of the country’s new conservative president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who as former prosecutor-general played a key role in convicting her.

“I offer my greetings to our people after five years,” a smiling Park said as she left the hospital, wearing a dark navy coat and carrying a purse.

“My health has improved a lot thanks to your concerns.”

Park is the daughter of late dictator Park Chung-hee, who ruled the country with an iron fist from 1961 to 1979. She became South Korea’s first woman president in 2013, casting herself in the role of the daughter of the nation, incorruptible and beholden to none.

Less than four years later, she was impeached and ousted. The corruption scandal exposed shady links between big businesses and politics in South Korea, with Park and her close friend Choi Soon-sil accused of taking bribes from conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics, in exchange for preferential treatment.