Impeached Park discharged from hospital, returns home

Former President Park Geun-hye was discharged from hospital on Thursday and took residence in her new home, after spending four years and nine months in prison for a series of corruption charges.

Appearing in front of the Samsung Medical Center where she was treated for chronic illnesses from November, Park said she has recovered and expressed gratitude to the medical staff.

“I offer my greetings to the public in five years. With all your care, I was able to recover my health. I would like to express my gratitude to the medical team and staff of Samsung Medical Center,” Park said to reporters and a crowd of supporters that were gathered in front of the hospital to welcome the former president.

It was Park’s first public appearance in five years after she was detained on March 31, 2017. The former president was serving a combined 22-year jail term since March 2017 for charges including abuse of power and bribery, after she was impeached the year before.

She was granted a special presidential pardon on Dec. 31.

In front of her house in Dalseong County in Daegu, hundreds of supporters cheered her return.

“Looking back, the past five years has been a very difficult time for me to endure. But in those times, I was able to overcome by thinking about the day I would return to Dalseong, my political turf and also my home in my heart,” Park said.

The former president also made a comment that could have been hinting at a political comeback.

“Serving as the president, I did work my best for the country and the people, but I still have a dream that I could not achieve, and I believe others would now play their role (for those goals),” Park said.

“I want to provide a small support for the talented people to achieve Daegu’s advancement and contribute to the development of the country.”

Park’s speech was interrupted briefly by a man in his 30s who threw a soju bottle toward the former president. The bottle fell to the ground 5 to 10 meters away from Park. No one was injured.

While addressing the public, Park made no mention of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who investigated her corruption allegations, which ultimately led to her impeachment, removal from office and imprisonment in 2017.

Earlier in the day, Yoon welcomed Park’s discharge from hospital and said he would pay her a visit in Daegu.

“It is assuring that Park has recovered her health and is returning home,” Yoon said.

“I am planning to travel to different regions next week. ... So we will check on her health condition and pay a visit.”

Yoon also said he would invite Park to his inauguration ceremony on May 10, as all former presidents have been invited in the past.

Yoon, who served as a prosecutor general for the incumbent liberal Moon Jae-in administration, quit after butting heads with Moon for running investigations on the president’s close aides. He won the presidential election as the candidate for the conservative opposition People Power Party, which Park is also affiliated to.

On relocating to Dalseong County in Daegu, Park’s confidant and lawyer Yoo Young-ha explained it is because the region is where she “first started her political career.”

“From serving four terms as a lawmaker representing this region was how she came to be president. She has always thought (of this region) as her hometown,” Yoo said.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)