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| Former President Lee Myung-bak / Yonhap |
The prosecution recommended that the imprisonment of former President Lee Myung-bak be suspended for three months due to health reasons Tuesday, more than a year-and-a-half after the Supreme Court finalized a 17-year sentence for him for corruption.
The Suwon District Prosecutors Office made the decision to recommend the release of Lee from the Anyang Correctional Institution, after the 81-year-old former president filed for a suspension of his imprisonment earlier this month, citing his deteriorating health.
Lee, president from 2008 to 2013, has been serving the sentence since the Supreme Court finalized the 17-year prison term in October 2020, after he was found guilty of embezzlement and bribery.
The former president has been in and out of the hospital during his imprisonment for chronic diseases, including diabetes. He was admitted to Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul last week for medical examinations and treatment.
Lee was first imprisoned in March 2018 during a prosecution investigation, before being released on bail in March 2019.
He was then re-incarcerated in February 2020 following a high court ruling, but was released again six days later after he successfully challenged the cancellation of his bail.
Following the top court's finalization of the 17-year term, Lee was imprisoned again in November 2020.
He was excluded from the presidential pardons given by former President Moon Jae-in last year, under which another imprisoned ex-president, Park Geun-hye, was set free. (Yonhap)
