[SEOUL] South Korean President Moon Jae In is likely to grant a pardon to former President Park Geun Hye, currently in prison after being convicted of corruption, Yonhap news agency reported on Friday, citing a senior official at the ruling party.

Park became South Korea's first democratically elected leader to be thrown out of office when, in 2017, the Constitutional Court upheld a parliament vote to impeach her over a scandal that also landed the heads of two conglomerates in jail.

She was brought down after being found guilty of colluding with a confidante to receive tens of billions of won from major conglomerates to help her family and fund nonprofit foundations she owned.

In January, South Korea's top court upheld a 20-year prison sentence for Park on the graft charges that led to her downfall, bringing an end to the legal process and for the first time raising the possibility of a pardon.

"I understand that ex-President Park is included on a list of people who are to be granted pardons," the unnamed official told Yonhap News Agency.

The presidential Blue House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

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Ruling Democratic Party lawmakers have previously floated the idea of a pardon for Park and another ex-president, Lee Myung Bak, in the name of national unity.

Park, 69, has experienced health problems while in prison, including undergoing shoulder surgery, according to South Korean media.

REUTERS