Former President Park Geun-hye, second from right, speaks to a child at a traditional market in Daegu, Sept. 25. Yonhap
Former President Park Geun-hye made a rare public appearance Monday as she visited a traditional market in the southeastern city of Daegu ahead of the autumn harvest holiday of Chuseok.
Accompanied by her aides and bodyguards, Park visited the traditional Hyeonpung Market in Daegu, her hometown, late Monday morning, donning a cream shirt matched with a dark denim skirt and running shoes with her signature updo hairstyle.
Park has been living in Daegu since March last year after she was pardoned in December 2021. She had spent four years and nine months in prison on a 22-year sentence for corruption that led to her impeachment and ouster from office in 2017.
Vendors and shoppers welcomed Park with clapping and cheering and wished her good health, while Park engaged them in small talk, giving handshakes and shopping for groceries.
When one vendor asked what made her take so long to come, Park responded, smiling, "I've been wishing to come for a long time but got behind schedule."
Following a 20-minute tour around the market, Park left in a vehicle, briefly telling reporters, "I came here to shop and see residents because Chuseok is coming."
Park has mostly stayed out of the public eye since she moved to a house in her hometown of Daegu in March 2022. Earlier this month, the ruling People Power Party's leader Kim Gi-hyeon visited Park at her house in Daegu and asked for efforts to help the party produce a strong showing in the next parliamentary elections in April. (Yonhap)
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