Majority of public against release of jailed ex-President Park: survey

A majority of the public opposes the release of former President Park Geun-hye, who has been detained for nearly three years now after a corruption scandal took down her presidency in 2017, a poll finds.

According to local pollster Realmeter on Monday, which conducted the survey of 503 adults nationwide, some 56 percent of respondents voiced opposition to Park’s early release. Slightly less than 40 percent supported the idea, while 4.6 percent chose neither answer.

People in the country’s traditional conservative stronghold, the region comprising Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, were more likely to favor leniency for the conservative former leader.

Park was elected in 2012 and became the country’s first female president in 2013. She was detained in March 2017 after a parliamentary impeachment and later convicted of a number of offenses including bribery and abuse of power. She is currently serving 32 years in jail after three separate trials, but the Supreme Court has ordered the appeals courts to review two of her cases.

Some conservative politicians have campaigned for her release for the sake of national unity. Most recently, Hwang Kyo-ahn, chief of the conservative main opposition Liberty Korea Party, said Park had been locked up longer than any other former president and should be set free.

The government, led by Park’s former rival President Moon Jae-in, holds the view that only convicted criminals are eligible for general or special pardons. Since her convictions are under review by appeals courts, they are not considered final.

Park asked twice for a temporary release, citing poor health, but the court decided against it.

The late presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo were pardoned for bribery after spending less than two years each in jail. Lee Myung-bak, another former president, was paroled after 349 days of detention. He is currently appealing convictions for embezzlement and bribery.

By Korea Herald staff (khnew@heraldcorp.com)